


Let Us Not Be Content

by Fritti13



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, But Yes We Are Going To Slog Through A Bit Of Civil War Shit, Civil War Fix-It, Comic Book Science, Dialogue Heavy, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Not Avengers: Endgame (Trailer) Compliant, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Canon Fix-It, Protective Nebula, Reconciliation, Steve Made Mistakes, Team Ironman but not un-friendly to Team Cap, Teamwork, Thanos Is Going Down, Thor (Marvel) is Not Stupid, Tony Can't Do This On His Own, Tony Made Mistakes, Tony Needs a Hug, Tony-centric, being adults, infinity war fix-it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-09-19 20:47:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 48,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17008932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fritti13/pseuds/Fritti13
Summary: In the aftermath of The Snap, the Avengers must recover, rebuild and come together in order to take the fight back to Thanos. Nebula is convinced that Tony is integral to any plan to fix the universe and convinces the others that this is true. Before that can happen, however, Tony needs to heal and the team must find a way to work together again, because it's going to take teamwork to fix this mess. This is a bit of a different take on what happens after the events of Infinity War.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is obviously canon-divergent, especially after the new trailer for IW part 2. Just go with it, OK?
> 
> This is a sequel to [We Shall Draw From The Heart](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14477847)
> 
> I also don't know enough about Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel to have added her to this narration, so this story does not include her. My apologies to Captain Marvel fans.

Let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us the determination to make the right things happen. - Horace Mann

******

Steve stared morosely out of the window of the compound. It was a beautiful afternoon in early May but the greenery and perfect blue skies were wasted on the disconsolate man. He rubbed absently at the almost healed gash on his forearm, courtesy of a Chitauri with a particularly sharp weapon. It would have been too much to ask that all of the alien creatures had disappeared along with their master but, while half of their ranks had been dusted, enough had remained to continue the battle for another few hours after The Snap. Steve and his fellow warriors had barely had time to acknowledge their losses at the hands of Thanos before they had been forced to throw themselves back into the fray. The wound on Steve's arm had been deep enough to half amputate his arm, at the time, but was now no more than a dull ache with an itchy scab.

After the battle had finally ground to a halt, he and the others had offered to stay and help with the clean up, but were politely but firmly turned away. Wakanda was an insular and very private nation and had wanted to deal with their grief in their own way. Still reeling with shock, he and the remaining Avengers had made their farewells to the Wakandan Queen Mother and Shuri and had silently boarded the quin-jet to return “home” to the compound. 

None of the Avengers knew what to do. The only bright spot was that they had been left alone. Ross had been dusted, as had half the government. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate had suddenly become the new President of the United States after the President and Vice President had been dusted and the Speaker of the House had gone down in an airplane. Rhodey and Natasha had been on the phone to the government almost constantly since then. It had been almost 32 hours since the end of the world as they knew it. Thor had said it was not just Earth, but the entire universe that had been affected. Half of all living creatures. The thought was too large to comprehend. 

Bruce and Thor's narration of their stories since Steve had last seen them was almost too fantastical to believe. The Hulk as some kind of space gladiator? Asgard gone? Loki sacrificing himself for Thor? He was still trying to wrap his head around it all. Then there was the talking Raccoon, Rocket, and his tales of his missing friends, The Guardians of the Galaxy. Sarcastic, vengeful and oh-so-broken, the creature was hard to like, but something about him still resonated with the remaining Avengers. They welcomed the grieving creature into their ranks. He has lost the closest thing he'd had to a son. Thor, who had first come to them as a boastful, arrogant, devil-may-care warrior, almost oafish in his boisterous love of fighting, was now a quiet, thoughtful, capable king with too much sorrow and hard-earned wisdom in his eyes. The change had been striking and Steve found himself liking this new version of the Asgardian, even if the changes were wrought by terrible tragedy and hardship.

Then there was the world around them. News reports were coming in from around the world. Disasters. Reports on Iron Man flying up to a spacecraft and disappearing. Riots and mass panic. Of the 6000 aircraft in flight around the world, from 2 seaters to jumbo jets, 1042 had crashed. Several power grids had fallen. The priority at the moment was to bring in any knowledgable people left to get them back up and running. Nuclear power plants had a cushion of almost a month without power before the water in their cooling systems evaporated and led to nuclear meltdown, but no one wanted to take that chance so finding technicians for those facilities were at the top of the list. Most hospitals in affected areas had back up generators but they wouldn't last forever so they were second on the list. It went on from there. Train crashes, car crashes, a shortage of first responders and medical personnel. The list went on and on and it was crushing.

How were the Avengers, or what was left of them, to deal with so much with so few? He missed Sam's wise council so much right now. He missed Wanda's sweet smile and how Vision looked at her with such adoration. He missed Bucky so fiercely that his heart shatters anew. After so much sacrifice, so many choices (both good and bad), a life on the run, after destroying a relationship that had been important to him... it had all been for nothing. His best friend, his swain, his... his everything... was lost to him once again. This time for good. The worst part of it was that Steve knew, with a bone deep conviction that was surprising in its intensity, that if he and Tony had been working together in this war, they would have won.[1] That knowledge cuts at him with an almost visceral pain. Hindsight is 20/20, he thinks as he once again hears Tony's anguished plea.

“I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart!”

At the time Steve had heard arrogance in that voice. Looking back on it now, he only hears desperation.

All of this over a stupid piece of paper. It now seemed so pointless. He's had time to do more research on the U.N. after they had fled. The organization wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but they weren't the evil overlords that Steve had feared, either. He had followed Ironman's exploits under the Accords and he had to admit that the restrictions placed on him weren't as bad as Steve had thought they would be, either. Then, too, there had been a rise in the enhanced population all over the world since the announcement of the Accords. Most countries had at least one team, now, that were creating their own versions of The Avengers. In most cases, there was no longer any need to rush in to other countries to intervene in conflicts or violent situations and, in the instances that the threat was too difficult for the indigenous team to handle, the Accords committee were quick to send Ironman, War Machine and Vision to help. Steve sighed deeply and shook his head. If he'd only had more time to think during the events of the so-called “Civil War” but everything had happened so quickly, too quickly, and he'd made the best decisions he could at the time. At least he had to believe that.

Footsteps behind him alerted Steve to the presence of one of the other Avengers. Steve glanced up and caught Rhodey's questioning look. He smiled sadly.

“Just thinking about Tony. I wish I'd done things differently. All of that and it didn't make a difference. Both he and Bucky are gone.”

Rhodey frowns. 

“Rogers, I want to make something clear.” the other man stated calmly. “When you showed up at the compound, I was happy to see you. There were aliens invading earth. Again. I'd have allied myself with the Devil himself and been ecstatic to do it if it meant protecting the world, but let's get something straight. You and I are not friends. What you did to Tony is unforgivable.”

Steve's eyebrows shot up and he opened his mouth to speak but Rhodey held up a hand and plowed on.

“I know you think what you did was noble and right, and in some ways I can even understand your reasoning, but what you actually did was arrogant and willfully ignorant. Your actions hurt a lot of innocent people. Some died and that's on you. You lied, you stole and you destroyed property and lives, all for the sake of one man. You put the life of Barnes above everyone else; men, women and children. If anything, by thumbing your nose at responsibility and accountability, you became an unwilling advocate for the very Accords that you scorned. Tell me, Rogers, does that sound like the actions of a righteous and good man?”

Steve shifted uncomfortably, facing flushing and eyes narrowed, but he shook his head no. Rhodes continued.

“You put yourself above the wishes of 117 countries. The U.N. isn't a government, but an intergovernmental organization set up to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order. Do you think you are smarter than the representatives of 60 percent of the worlds population? Do you think you should have the right to storm into any country in the world just because you think it's the right thing to do, regardless if those people want you to be there or not?”

Steve's eyes dropped. 

“Rhodey...” he began but again Rhodes, cut him off.

“That's Colonel Rhodes to you, soldier!” he snapped, and Steve straightened fractionally, his eyes snapping up to meet the man facing him. “I can forgive your ignorance, even if you've had several years now to catch up on how the modern world works, but one thing I will never forgive is that you left Tony, your teammate, behind in a dangerous situation. He'd told no one that he was going and you left him in a dead suit, which is what he used to fly to that bunker in Siberia. You left an injured man in a known Hydra bunker in below freezing weather. He was able to jury rig something together from the ancient tech that was in that bunker and get a message out to Friday, but it took time to get a rescue team to him. Time that he could have been taken if Hydra had gotten wind of his situation and time that almost ran out. He had a punctured lung, a concussion and hypothermia when he was finally rescued. It was a very near thing. We were almost too late. Is that what you wanted?”

Steve's face had drained of color as he stared at Rhodey in horror. He stammered.

“I... I didn't realize... I just wanted to... to stop him. He was going to kill...”

Once again, Rhodes held up his hand to stop Steve. 

“You've fought with Tony for years. You know the capabilities of his suit. He has lasers that could have sliced through you or Barnes like butter. He has missiles that could have blown you apart into pieces so small no one would have ever found you. He can dial up the energy on his repulsors high enough to blast a hole through a mountain. With his suit, he's capable of lifting 100 tons, more than enough to rip you limb from limb. You've seen him do this stuff. Do you honestly think he was trying to kill you? Or was he just wanting you to hurt as much as he was after he found out you'd been lying to him and using him for years?” [2]

Steve's shoulders slumped and he turned to look out of the floor to ceiling window again. He watched a fly crawl up the outside of the glass for a second before heaving a deep sigh and turning back toward the smaller man.

“How did things get so screwed up? I've had time to look back on how things shook out. I can't regret trying to help Bucky. He's all I have … had... left. But I wish I had kept a calmer head. I wish to God I'd found a better way. That we had found a better way. I hadn't realized that Tony almost died. That's... you're right. That's unforgivable and so are all the people I hurt. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, and now look at everything. Bruce told me that Tony had the phone I sent him in his pocket when they went to him. In his pocket, Colonel. He was out jogging and he was carrying that damn phone with him. That tells me that, however much he may have hated me, he hadn't totally given up on me. And now it's too late. It's too late for Bucky and it's too late for Tony and I to set things right. Everything's gone. Sam's gone. Wanda's gone. Vision and T'Challa and... “ Steve choked. “I've got Nat and Thor and maybe Bruce. I don't know if Clint made it, or Scott. The world's in chaos and I don't... I don't know what to do. This isn't something I can just punch in the face and make better. I don't... I can't...” his shoulders shook and he turned away.

Rhodey shook his head wearily. “I'm taking over as acting head of the Avengers, Captain. I've got 30 years of combat training and a hell of a lot more experience in dealing with government officials than you do. Whatever our differences, we don't have the luxury to dwell on them now. The world needs us to be united, despite what our personal feelings on the matter may be. I need a second in command. I'm offering it to you.”

Steve's head came up as he looked the Colonel in the eye once again, eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

“What about the Accords?”

“The Accords have stipulations built in that gives leeway in extenuating circumstances. I think this qualifies, don't you? Let me handle the Accords committee. You will have to sign then, however, even if they don't mean a whole lot at the moment. Call it a gesture of good faith. That's non-negotiable.”

Slowly his posture straightened and his shoulders squared. He gave his new commanding officer a nod.

Rhodey smiled grimly. “Good. Don't make me regret it.” He spun on his heel and walked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [1] The Russo brothers tweeted: "the avengers lost to thanos because steve and tony weren't together." 
> 
> [2] [The Ironman Suits Abilities](https://www.superherodb.com/iron-man/10-85/equipment/)
> 
> P.S. I absolutely suck at HTML coding so, while the footnotes show up, they don't actually link. I've been unable to solve this problem.


	2. Chapter 2

Rhodey sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. The reports coming in were mixed. The UK, Canada and Australia was struggling to make sense of everything while the governments tried to keep their people calm, to varying degrees of success. The more destabilized regions of the European and South American continents were in complete upheaval. Japan and China were handling the snap better than the Middle East nations and not much news at all had trickled out of Russia or the Pacific nations. The U.S. was a total mixed bag of all of those. Sporadic news reports ranged from mass suicides to people proclaiming this as a religious event. The religious aspect of The Snap wasn't an isolated incident, by far. Almost every country in the world had large swaths of people claiming that this had been the Rapture, Judgement Day, Armageddon and a dozen other end-of-the-world or beginning-of-the-end scenarios and religious fervor had never been higher. Places of worship, of every religion around the world, were packed to overflowing with current and new worshippers. 

Every super hero or Enhanced team (the ones that were left) were being called on to help with riots and to combat the immoral, soulless individuals who looked upon the current chaos as an opportunity for personal gain. Sadly, there were no shortage of those.

An alarmed sounded and Friday's voice resonated throughout the compound.

“Colonel Rhodes, an unknown object has just entered earth's orbit. Stark satellites indicated that at it's currently trajectory, the object will land at latitude 41.2295° N by longitude 73.9871° W That's the Compound, Colonel.” [3]

Rhodes surged forward, calling for the War Machine armor. Shortly before the disastrous invasion, Tony had incorporated the same technique into the War Machine armor as he had had in the previous version of the Iron Man armor and now his armor glided to a stop before him, opening like a flower petal desperate for rain and enfolded him in it's safe embrace. He joined Nat, Steve, Bruce, Thor and Rocket out on the Quin-jet landing pad.

A battered space ship that vaguely resembled something Rhodes had seen in a Star Trek movie broke through the cloud cover and settled slowly toward the ground. Rocket was already running toward it.

“It's my ship! That's the Benatar! That's my crew!” 

Thor was right behind him, followed on his heels by Steve. Bruce, Rhodey and Natasha hung back, more hesitant to accept that everything was all right. The ship settled with a juddering thud onto the landing pad, throwing up particles of dust in it's wake. The engines cut and silence fell over the crowd. Rocket stood before the hatch, wringing his hands anxiously and hopping from foot to foot impatiently. 

Eventually, the hatched hissed and slid out and down to form a ramp. A figure stood in the shadows of the opening before moving into the sunlight and the remaining Avengers could see that it was a humanoid, female in appearance but blue and purple skinned with more cybernetics than skin visible. A sudden stillness swept over Rocket, freezing him for a fraction of a moment and Steve tensed behind him, sensing something was off. 

“Nebula?” Rocket whispered, craning his neck to see if anyone was standing behind her. “Nebula, why... Where's...?” The raccoon tapered off uncertainly. A flash of pity raced across the woman's face before she schooled it into a stoic facade.

“They are gone.”

Rocket dropped to his knees with a mournful wail, paws coming up to cover his eyes. Steve and Bruce looked away uncomfortably while Thor dropped to his knees beside the raccoon. Of everyone there, he could best empathize with his little friend. They had both lost everyone. He swept the small creature into an embrace, murmuring lowly into the grief stricken creatures ears. 

The blue woman, Nebula, turned to the others. 

“I have a mortal on board. He gave me these coordinates before he was lost to fever. Will you provide him with medical assistance?”

The Avengers stared, stunned, for a moment before understanding dawned on their faces and Steve leapt toward the opening with a strangled cry. A moment later he reappeared in the doorway with Tony Stark hanging limply from his arms, head hanging lax over Steve's bulging arms and arms dangling limply. He would have looked dead if it were not for the flushed, ruddy color high on his cheeks and his shallow, panting breaths. 

Rhodey barked a command through his suit to Friday to put in a call for Dr. Cho and to have the Med Bay prepped immediately before surging forward, Natasha and Bruce at his side. 

Steve raced toward the compound, trying his best not to jostle Tony any more than he had to. It wouldn't have mattered. The unconscious man never stirred nor made a sound but flopped in his arms like a rag doll. That terrified Steve even more. After placing the injured man on one of the Med Bay beds, he retreated to the lounge adjacent to the medical ward and let Bruce take over. Half an hour later, Helen Cho dashed through with three nurses in tow and Bruce returned to the waiting room.

“He's... he's really sick. He's got a large wound, front and back, as well. I'm not even sure how he's even alive.” Bruce murmured when pressed for information. 

Steve turned to Nebula, who had taken up a position as close to the surgery doors as possible, arms crossed and facing outwards, as if she had taken up guard duty.

“Thank you for bringing Tony home, but I think it's time we had some answers about what happened out there.” he glanced at Rocket, sitting quietly with Thor. The small alien looked shattered and Steve was suddenly grateful for the few friends that remained to him. Returning his gaze to Nebula, he tilted his head slightly, waiting for a response. The cyborg looked the super soldier up and down cooly, then glanced at the rest of the assembled heroes before nodding.

“I am the adopted daughter of Thanos.” she announced quietly and watched as the people in the room tensed fractionally before forging on. “He took us, my sister Gamora and I, from our homes when we were but small children and raised us to be the most feared assassins in the universe.” 

Natasha raised one eyebrow in interest, a sudden gleam appearing in her eye. Nebula noted her sudden pique and allowed herself a very, very tiny smirk before sobering again.

“He was a monster but we didn't know any other way and we served him well for many years. My sister was the first to break from him. She found a home with the Guardians.” at this she cut a look toward Rocket, who was regarding her with sad eyes.

“I eventually followed, vowing to kill the abomination that called himself our father. Thanos is a stain on the universe but he was powerful, even before he gained the Infinity Stones. I fell back into his hands. His welcome to me was not … loving.” her voice faltered and Rocket's eyes actually widened at such a blatant break in her matchless stoicism. He knew that her torture must have been beyond comprehension and he bared his teeth in a snarl. The rest of the Avengers shifted uncomfortably. Nebula took a breath before continuing.

“He came to me a few days ago with Gamora. I don't know how she came to be with him but I suspect he took her with the help of the Reality Stone. He wanted to know where the Soul Stone was to be found but she refused to tell him.” she paused before blurting out in an uncommon display of emotion. “She should have kept refusing! Why did she give it up for me? I don't... I don't understand...” she trailed off and the Avengers exchanged sympathetic looks, giving the young woman time to collect herself.

“She exchanged the location of the Soul Stone for my life, which was a stupid move. It got her killed.” Rocket let out an anguished cry but she ignored him. “They left and I can only assume that Thanos sacrificed her on Vormir to claim the stone because he had it on the Gauntlet when I saw him next. He took the life of his own daughter, my sister, to gain the Soul Stone and for that I will kill him.” She stated coldly, and a shiver ran up Steve's spine. Natasha just smiled grimly. Thor and Rocket nodded their heads in agreement, their eyes icy and hard. Nebula acknowledged them with the tiniest of nods.

“I escaped and flew to Titan, my father's home world, because I knew that was where he would go next. When I arrived, he was already engaged in battle. The Guardian's were there, along with a Mage, a young Spider Boy and your Ironman.” At this, the Avengers perked up, their gazes sharpening. Natasha drew in a quick breath at the words 'spider boy', but held her comments.

“Thanos drew down a moon from the sky and threw it at your friend,” she nodded her head in the direction of the surgery doors “and, while it destroyed my ship, it only angered Tony Stark.” There were shocked exhalations from those around her. 

“He threw... he threw a moon at Tony!?” Steve stammered, eyes wide in disbelief. Nebula nodded.

“His armor is quite formidable but it wasn't enough. He fought Thanos hand to hand and stood against my father, alone, for an impressively long time. My father . . . my father did something strange. He spoke to your friend, said that he knew who Tony Stark was. Even across the universe, he knew of this mortal. He told Tony 'you are not the only one cursed with knowledge'. I am confused as to what all of this means, but it is significant. Eventually, however, your Ironman's efforts failed. Thanos took a spear forged from your friend's own suit and ran him completely through with it.”

At this, Rhodey let out a small cry and, even with the Hulk's reluctance to put in an appearance, Bruce's face tinged green. Thor just nodded grimly. He didn't seem to be as amazed as the rest in the telling of a story that seemed to be something out of a fever dream. 

“Your Ironman was dying, then. Thanos placed his hand on Stark's head in benediction and said that Stark had his respect. I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard my father admit to respecting someone. It is almost unheard of. Before Thanos could finish killing Stark, the Mage spoke up and offered the Time Stone for Stark's life and, like my sister before, he bargained with it. Stark tried to stop him, but it was too late. The deal was made and Thanos healed Stark just enough to stop him from bleeding out there on the ground. He took the Time Stone and left. I'm assuming he came here?” she looked at the horrified faces around her and several of them nodded numbly. She sighed.

“It wasn't long after that that they all began to turn to ash; the Guardian's, the Mage and the Spider Boy. Stark was holding his son when he disappeared.” 

“He's not...” Rhodey began and his voice faltered as he blinked furiously. “He wasn't Tony's son, but he might as well have been.” 

Natasha sighed heavily at Thor's and Bruce's bewildered looks but Steve's face reflected a dawning understanding as he put the clues together. 

Natasha spoke up again, giving the cyborg a questioning glance. “Is there anything else?” 

“Just one.” Nebula stated emphatically. “Before I arrived, the Mage used the Time Stone to view the futures in which we defeated Thanos.” The air in the room became suddently charged. Even the despondent Rocket straightened with a look of fierce anticipation. “He saw over 14 million versions of the future and only one … one, where we succeed and then, after vowing to never give up the Time Stone, he gave it up for Tony Stark's life. I believe he saw that the only way we can win is with Stark's help. I think he will be our salvation and I intend to make it my mission to make sure that he stays alive long enough to bring that about.”

She glared at the stunned faces around her and crossed her arms again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [3] Note: 41.2295° N by longitude 73.9871° W is the coordinates of Stony Point, NY, a town about an hour from downtown Manhattan. I simply got a kick out of the name. Google it. It's a real place. When I found it I was like "YASSSS, I must use this as the home of the compound!"


	3. Chapter 3

Time ticked by at a torturously slow pace. Thor paced as Rocket watched before eventually drifting off to further explore the labs he had discovered downstairs. Bruce fidgeted nervously as Natasha sat stoically unmoving, a contemplative look on her face as she considered all that she had just learned. Steve leaned against the wall and watched as Rhodey stared moodily out of a window. Eventually, the super soldier decided to brave the Colonel's wrath and approached him with the questions that had been burning through his brain.

“Colonel, I didn't know that Tony was mentoring anyone. The Spiderboy that Nebula mentioned, how old was he?”

Rhodey considered the man before him for a moment, before answering. 

“Sixteen, and it's Spiderman.”

Steve paused for a moment, then his eyes widened.

“Sixteen? That would have made him fifteen when he fought us in Germany! What was Stark thinking?”

“First of all, Rogers,” Rhodey retorted, “Berlin wasn't supposed to BE a fight. We were there to talk first and subdue only if that didn't work. Peter was told NOT to engage, but to stand by and web you guys up if you resisted arrest. He disobeyed Tony's direct order and entered the fight. We never dreamed it would get as violent as it did. We didn't know you had brought in outside help.” 

“Be that as it may,” Steve gritted out angrily “I dropped a jetway onto a CHILD!”

Rhodey surveyed his CI2 calmly. “Yes, Captain, you did. However, that “child” can lift over 10 tons, which makes him much stronger than you. [4] His healing factor and body durability are actually much greater than yours. He has night vision, super agility, enhanced speed and can stick to almost any surface, which is actually kind of creepy. He's almost as smart as Tony and has a weird intuition for approaching danger. That's not even counting the webs he shoots. If he'd had more combat experience, Cap, he would have kicked your ass seven ways to Sunday. But yes, he shouldn't have been in that fight and, trust me, Tony knows that.”

Steve and the rest of the inhabitants of the waiting room listened in amazement at Rhodey's words. Steve tried once more. 

“But..” he began.

“No “buts”, Captain.” Rhodey spat back. “Siberia broke Tony. YOU broke Tony, but a fucking fifteen year old kid put him back together again and now he's gone. That's all that matters right now, got it?”

Steve nodded, slightly mollified, and began to turn away but halted in his tracks as the door to the med bay swung open. The residents of the waiting room all came to attention as Helen Cho stepped in to the room. She surveyed the room before zeroing in on Rhodey.

“Colonel Rhodes, I understand that you are listed as one of Mr. Stark's next of kin, next to Pepper Potts?”

Rhodey nodded silently.

“Would you like to step into a private room, Colonel?” Dr. Cho continued. Rhodey mulled the question over for a few seconds.

“No, it's OK, Helen. We will all need to be aware of what we are looking at if we're going to be living and working together for the foreseeable future, so go ahead and tell us what we are dealing with.

“Very well.” she exhaled. “Mr. Stark is in recovery at the moment. He has multiple contusions and lacerations, a grade two concussion and two broken ribs. He has also suffered a significant trans-abdomino impalement injury which appears to have had some sort of healing which I can't account for and was sealed by an application of nanobots. The wound is about four inches in length and enters the body just under Tony's ribcage on the left side and exits out of his back approximately three inches from his spine. We had to re-open the wound to clean it out and to repair his internal musculature. There was some damage to his intestinal tract but not as much as there should have been and I have no explanation as to why that is.” 

Nebula spoke up. “That was Thanos. He promised the Mage that he would let Stark live. He did not promise to make him whole, only that he would live. I'm sure he only healed Stark enough to keep his promise.”

Helen stared at the blue alien in bemusement for a moment. 

“Well, that would certainly explain why he doesn't have his guts spilling out all over the place.” She stated bluntly. “But this Thanos guy didn't think of everything. While Tony may not be suffering from Peritonitis, which would have had a high likelihood of killing him with the amount of damage that should have happened, he may be facing something just as deadly. Not only did whatever impaled him shove nanobots into his body, the instrument was covered with alien microbes that have created a raging infection that I'm not sure how to combat. I've put him on a broad spectrum antibiotic to start with. In the mean time, we are giving him fever reducers and have applied cooling blankets in an attempt to bring down his fever. It is dangerously high at the moment.” 

The distressed look on Rhodey's face was painful to behold and Thor lay a consoling hand across his shoulders. Bruce stepped forward. 

“I may have some contacts that would have some ideas on what might work.” 

“I'll take any help I can get.” Helen responded and Bruce left to make some phone calls.

The remaining Avengers drifted back toward the common room after Helen waved them off with a promise to keep then updated. 

“I'll go fix a pot of coffee.” Natasha announced and veered off toward the kitchen. Steve, Rhodey and Thor settled on the couches, quiet and contemplative. They hadn't spoken by the time Natasha re-entered with four large mugs of steaming coffee on a tray with sugar and creamer. After setting it on the coffee table and sinking into her own chair with a mug, she looked at the three men gathered with her.

“What happens now?”

Thor reached for his own mug, sighing gustily.

“I must leave for a short time. If any of my people remain out in the cosmos, I need to find them. Half of my people split from us shortly before Thanos came upon the Statesman. They were on another vessel we had procured from the Vanir. The Statesman was simply too small for that many. They were with one of my friends, the Valkyrie Brunnhilde but we lost contact with them shortly after Thanos boarded us. If he did, indeed, take half the universe, then a quarter of the Asgardians that managed to escape the destruction of my home world should still be alive. A pitiful small number, tis true, but I must know and I must find them. They are all...” Thor's voice trailed of for a moment, before he continued with a slight waver, “they are all that I have left.” 

Steve reached across from his seat and lay a comforting hand on the God of Thunder's arm.

“Not all, Thor. You also have us. Find your people and bring them to Earth. You will always have a home here.” 

Thor looked around him and, seeing the answering nods from Natasha and Rhodey, found his eyes bright with unshed tears.

“Thank you, my friends. I have never experienced dark times such as we have seen in these last days. Every small act of kindness shines so much brighter because of it. You are truly more treasured than all the gold of once fabled Asgard.”

They all raised their coffee cups in a toast to friendship.

AAA

 

Hours later, Bruce trudged wearily into the kitchen. Steve and Natasha were putting together sandwiches. Rocket was seated at the breakfast counter, looking incongruously comical with his short little legs dangling so high above the floor. Bruce had learned in the short time that they had known their unusual new companion, however, that you risked life and limb if you teased him. He wisely kept his mouth shut.

“So what's the news, Bruce?” Natasha asked as she slathered mustard onto several slices of bread.

Bruce ran a hand through his greying hair and climbed onto a stool beside Rocket.

“Well, it took a bit. I tried a friend of mine in New York, Dr. Christine Palmer, first but she's been dusted. So was my next choice, Dr. Keith Wilmott. A colleague of his gave me a few more names to try but, for various reason, I didn't have much better luck. I even contacted Shuri. She told me to send her a sample of Tony's blood to analyze, see if she could figure anything out, so I drew the sample and called Wong to portal it to her as quickly as possible. He just left. I've got feelers and messages sent but I've been gone a long time and I'm not sure I know where everyone is, anymore, even if they haven't been dusted. We'll just have to wait and see.” he concluded morosely.

Rocket shoved a couple of green olives into his mouth and hummed appreciatively. They were his new favorite delicacy; the only thing that seemed to make him smile at the moment. Steve placed a ham sandwich in front of Bruce. 

“How's Tony doing?” he asked.

Bruce picked at the sandwich for a bit.

“Not good. Colonel Rhodes is with him now. We can't seem to get the fever to come down. He's delirious. We've had to used soft straps to hold his arms down. He keeps trying to pull out his IV's and he's been calling for a Peter. I'm assuming that's Spiderman's real name.”

Friday soft Irish lilt interrupted at that moment. 

“Dr. Banner, you have a call coming in from Sri Lanka. A Dr. Amara Perera?” [5]

Bruce sat up straighter.

“Put her through, Friday.”

A melodic, accented voice came through the speakers.

“Dr. Banner, I presume?”

“Dr. Perera, yes, thank you for getting back to me. You are on speaker with myself, Captain Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff. Steve, Nat, this is Dr. Amara Perera, one of the worlds most brilliant biophysicist's and a friend of Tony's. Friday supplied her number to me.”

Both Steve and Natasha voiced a polite “Hello”. 

“Captain America and the Black Widow. I'm honored to make your acquaintance. I wish it were under better circumstances. Tony certainly doesn't do anything by half measures, does he? Space microbes. I must admit, this is absolutely fascinating to me professionally, and I would request a physical sample of his blood when you have the opportunity, Dr. Banner, but for now I would like to suggest a possible course of treatment. I don't think you are going to find that a standard course of antibiotics will do the trick. Friday and I have had an opportunity to converse before I had her call you and, from the slide images of Tony's cells that she provided me with, I believe we are looking at an alien version of the bacteria strain Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, which for the time being, I'm going to call Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Titanus, after its planet of origin. There is a new antibiotic that has recently been developed, however, that is twenty five thousand times stronger than its predecessor and is currently the most powerful antibiotic on the planet. It is called Vancomycin. [6] I'll arrange to have some flown to the compound immediately.”

Bruce brightened perceptively, hope blooming in his eyes.

“Dr. Perera, you've given me the first good news I've gotten today. Let's hope we are on the right track. I'll arrange for that blood sample immediately. I have an excellent courier service.” he smirked slyly.

After good-byes the three Avengers, with a more upbeat attitude on their weary faces, gave each other encouraging smiles before Bruce hurried off to discuss his new findings with Dr. Cho and Colonel Rhodes.

Maybe, just maybe the would catch a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [4] [Spiderman's Powers](https://screenrant.com/spider-man-superpowers-ranked-best-worst/)
> 
> [5] All of the Dr.'s mentioned above are part of Marvel canon. 
> 
> [6] [New Super Antibiotic](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/05/superantibiotic-25000-times-more-potent-its-predecessor)


	4. Chapter4

Twenty four hours later, Dr. Cho began to see the first improvements to her patient. Tony's temperature dipped below 104Fº for the first time since he had arrived back on Earth. The unhealthy grey pallor of his skin began to recede and he showed his first signs of awareness.

Rhodey hadn't left his side for anything more than a quick shower and bathroom breaks, insisting on taking his meals and rest in the room. Bruce had been in and out almost as frequently as Helen. The others had popped their head in from time to time (even Rocket had looked in once) but only stayed long enough to make sure that Earth's Greatest Defender was hanging in there and fighting.

Nebula, stationed just inside the doorway to Tony's room, monitored everyone coming in or out. It felt rather ridiculous to be subjected to such intense scrutiny within their own compound, but no one was brave enough to comment on it to her face. The alien assassin watched as her unofficial charge began to stir.

When Tony finally cracked an eye open, Rhodey was there. Tony's eyes were glassy and slightly unfocused, but after a few moments it was obvious that he recognized his best friend by the very small smile that graced his bruised and battered face.

“Platypus...” he whispered in a barely there voice.

Rhodey squeezed the injured man's hand gently, knowing that what was coming was going to be shattering, and steeling his heart to hurt this man even more.

“Tony, I didn't think I was going to see you again. You flew off into space, you fool.” he murmured softly.

Tony clenched his eyes shut briefly.

“I know. I'm sorry,” he exhaled, then opened his eyes and glanced around nervously. “Where's... where's Pepper?”

Rhodey gazed at Tony steadily.

“I'm sorry, Tones. I am so, so sorry.”

Tony turned back toward the man sitting so steadfastly by his side, his large, luminous eyes filling with tears. 

“Oh... oh God...” his voice cracked as tears spilled over and coursed down his face to soak up in the hair that was beginning to turn silver just above his ears. They both sat silently while the billionaire grieved for the love of his life, gone before they could pledge their troth to each other. They stayed like that until Tony slipped into sleep an hour later, having never spoken another word, but both clinging to each other's hand as if it were the only thing tethering them to this world.

 

When Tony roused again, he found Rhodey again seated next to him, hand loosely clasped in his. He felt a swell of emotion for his best friend. A better friend than he ever deserved. If he had to lose Pepper to the Snap, at least he hadn't lost Rhodey. He didn't think he could have gone on at all if he lost Peter, Pepper and Rhodey. There would have been nothing left for him. Right now, his oldest friend was his only anchor to this life.

Rhodey met his gaze with calm compassion, the strength and willingness to carry Tony's burdens radiating off of him like a beacon. Tony clasped Rhodey's hand like a lifeline and let out a shuddering sigh.

“Peter died in my arms.” he whispered, glancing over to the silent Nebula. “He knew it was coming. He could feel it. He felt it as it happened. I don't know if I will ever not see that in my head every day for the rest of my life, Rhodey. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to live with it. He wasn't supposed to even be there...” Tony choked off. The older man just held on, grounding Tony, listening in silence.

“I sent him back home, Jim. I did the responsible thing and sent the kid home. He managed to sneak back on that God damn ship and stowed away until we were too far away for me to do anything about it. I never realized until after he was gone how much I loved that brat.”

Rhodey gave him a small, sad smile.

“Then you were the only one that didn't realized it, my man. It was as apparent as the nose on your face to anyone that saw you two together for more than five minutes that you would have adopted that kid in a heartbeat if you could have.”

Tony smiled tremulously, his eyes bright again with unshed tears. 

“Well, you know me. I'm an idiot when it comes to relationships. I'm always the last to figure these things out. And now it's too late. I've lost him and Pepper both. We were supposed to shop for wedding cakes next week... he trailed off, his lips trembling. Rhodey squeezed the devastated man's hand, willing his own strength into his friend. Tony drew in a fortifying breath and attempted to sit up. Rhodey grabbed a couple of pillows, pulling the genius up and stuffing them behind his back. Tony sank back into the pillows with a sigh before visibly gathering his fortitude about himself, clenching his jaw and catching his friends eye again.

“Honeybear, your Mother?” he enquired softly.

Rhodey smiled. “She's good. Still here. So is Happy. I'm actually sending Happy down to Philly to get her and bring her here. They should be here later today.” 

Tony let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God. Oh, thank God. Can you also check on May Parker? If she's not been... if she's still around, I need to... I need to tell her...” he stuttered to a stop.

Rhodey shook his head.

“I checked yesterday while you were in recovery, Tones. She didn't come through the Snap. Where ever Peter is, she's with him. Take some comfort in that, OK?”

Tony pressed his lips together and nodded resolutely before closing his eyes again. His energy was waning again, fever and pain sucking all of the strength out of him.

“Rhodey, go to bed. You look like Hell. I can't do this if you aren't there to hold me up and I know damn well that you are holding everyone else up, too. You need to keep your own strength up if you are going to play Atlas.” he whispered, exhaustion pulling him down, his eyes slipping closed again.

He roused briefly again after his best friend had shuffled out of the room. Nebula was gazing at him, her face implacable. Tony regarded her for a moment.

“Not that I don't appreciate what you've done for me, Blue, but why?”

She sniffed disdainfully. 

“I told you. You are going to fix this. I won't allow anyone to stop you. Now shut up and sleep, you idiot.”

Tony raised and eyebrow but dutifully closed his eyes again. 

AAA

The next time Tony's eyes opened, morning sun was streaming in the window and Natasha was seated next to him. He regarded her silently for almost a minute, thoughts tumbling around in his head as he regarded her implacable gaze. Her face was almost blank, but he could, surprisingly, detect traces of concern and relief in her eyes that he was pretty sure were not faked. Finally, he stretched out his hand and, with a hint of surprise and and small smile, she took it in her own small, warm hand. 

“I like you better as a redhead.” he croaked out. She didn't take the bait.

“You really scared me this time. Don't ever do something like that again. I know we don't always have the best relationship, Tony, but I do care what happens to you. Hard to believe, I know.”

“You aren't as stoic as you like to believe, Nat.” Tony reposted quietly. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Tony spoke again.

“How bad was it?”

Natasha's eyes cut away, her face hardening.

“Bad. The Chitauri and Thanos' Black order were... a nightmare. If Thor hadn't shown up when he did, they would have overrun us. Even with Thor, I'm not sure we would have won. Then Thanos showed up...” at this, she threw a knowing glance at Tony, “and it all came down around our ears. I'm sure you've already worked out that Vision is gone.”

Tony nodded, anger flaring in his eyes. She continued.

“T'Challa, Wanda, Sam... Bucky.” she studied Tony's face. “I don't know about Clint or Fury or anyone else.”

The genius leaned his head back on the pillow and stared at the ceiling for a moment before he spoke quietly.

“I may have had my issues with him, but I never wanted Barnes dead. I'm sorry for that. I didn't hear Steve's name there, so I'm assuming he survived. I'm sorry he has to go through losing his best friend again. I really am. I can't even imagine how I would go on without Rhodey.”

He started to say something more, but Helen Cho was at the door. After an approving nod from his ever present guard dog, Nebula, she entered. 

“How are you feeling today, Tony?” she asked as she moved to examine the various readouts on the medical equipment attached to him; pulse ox, heart monitor, blood pressure, temperature and a variety of other indicators that Tony didn't want to think about too closely.

“Like ten miles of bad road, Doc.” 

Helen smiled at the analogy. “Believe it or not, you are far, far better now than when you came in. Your wound is scabbing over nicely. I'm afraid it's going to leave a significant scar, however.”

Tony sighed, “Just another to add to my rather extensive collection, then.”

The petite Dr. patted his arm. “I'm afraid so. Our biggest concern at the moment is the infection you picked up from your trip to outer space. We are seeing some improvement on the antibiotic that your friend, Dr. Perera, recommended to us, but it's not progressing as fast as I would like and I'm not sure it's going to be enough. It's the most powerful antibiotic on the planet and it's barely knocking this down. Princess Shuri … I'm sorry, Queen Shuri of Wakanda thinks that she may be on to something after studying your blood samples and the effects that the Vancomycin has had on the alien bacteria to date but, even with her Mother's help, she still has a staggering amount of new duties to undertake as the new Queen, and I can't expect her to devote all of her time to this. We'll keep pushing the Vancomycin as much as we can until we hear differently and hope for the best. You're probably going to experience significant nausea from it and probably some vomiting and stomach pain. Let me know if that's the case and I can give you some Compazine for it.”

Tony nodded, then sighed.

“I feel as weak as a kitten and I can't decide if I'm freezing or burning up.”

Helen smiled knowingly. “Well, you did lose a significant amount of blood and we've only been able to get the fever down to around 102Fº so far, so I'm not surprised. Just rest up and heal. That's all you can do for the moment.” 

She patted his arm again, nodded amicably to Natasha and left. Tony turned once again to the former assassin.

“Natasha...” he began slowly and she raised one eyebrow at his use of her full name, “I have a favor to ask of you. I don't ask this lightly and I'm putting my trust in you, as strange as that may seem, so please... please don't betray me again.” Her eyes widened at this sudden change in topic. “ I'm between a rock and a hard place and I don't know what else to do, but you are really my only choice for this at the moment. I don't know who's left at Stark Industries. I need you to find out. You're the best at what you do and I'm going to trust your judgement in digging in to the backgrounds of the surviving board members. If you don't find anyone who you would trust to run my company for awhile without making it about their personal gain I... I want you and Happy to take over for the time being.”

The shock on the Black Widow's face would have been glorious if the circumstances had been less dire but Tony couldn't appreciate it at the moment.

“You've got enough working knowledge of SI and no real invested interest to take personal advantage of the situation. You are smart and capable and I can't think of anyone other than Pepper...” at this his voice cracked for a moment before he forced himself to go on, “to be strong enough to see what's left of SI and get it back up and running again. Take Happy with you. He knows the people, the subsidiaries and a lot of the details behind current negotiations and alliances. He'll help bring you up to speed and he'll make sure that everyone knows that you speak for me. I'll sign whatever paperwork that I need to make this happen.

“Talk to whoever is left in the Energy Division and distribute as many Clean Energy Arcs that we currently have available to where they need to go the most. Get FRIDAY to analyze the current world situation and make a determination on where they would do the most good and make a list. Get more into production ASAP and work on that list. Hospitals, power plants, food production, emergency services, wherever FRIDAY says they should go. I'm guessing the roads aren't worth shit at the moment because they're probably clogged with wrecked vehicles, so take the small SI helo and fly in to the office.” 

“Tony...” Natasha began, but he held up his hand to stop her.

“Nat, we know that I'm not up to this at the moment and, when I'm recovered enough, I've got to figure out how to fix this. I can't do that and run my company at the same time. There are hundreds of thousands of people who depend on Stark Industries for their livelihood, either directly or indirectly. I can't turn my back on them just because I'm trying to fix the un-fixable. When I figure out what I'm going to do, I'll pull you back in. We won't do anything without the Black Widow.” he smiled knowingly.

Natasha looked at him for a long, long moment, emotions flitting almost imperceptibly across her face as she mulled this unexpected turn of events over in her head. When she nodded, her eyes blazed with a fierceness that Tony had only seen her exhibit in battle.

“You never cease to be able to surprise me, Antoshka. Not many people have that ability, you know.” she huffed out, flicking strands of blond hair out of her face. “I won't betray you, you have my word.” A small growl came from the assassin at the door.

She rose.

“Well, it seems I have my work cut out for me, so I had better get to it.” 

Natasha bent down and placed a chaste kiss on Tony's forehead, then straightened and strode out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I've always liked Natasha. Much like Tony, she's far, far from perfect and a complex personality, but she's still one of my favorites. In my little corner of the fan fiction world, she always drifts back to Tony in the end, whether or not it's out of true affection (and I believe there is that element) or her attraction to people with power and influence, or a combination of both. I think they have both come to an understanding of each others flaws and accepted them over the years as part and parcel of the package deal that is their complicated friendship.


	5. Chapter 5

Two hours later, Tony was listlessly picking at his blankets, trying to ignore the dryness of his nasal passages as the nasal cannula forced air up his nose. It was extremely annoying. Rhodey, in the chair next to him, typed furiously on his Starkpad; something that they had so far refused to allow Tony access to, stating that he needed to rest. The genius was bored. Very bored.

Footsteps approached from the hallway. Nebula glanced out of the door, nodding in approval as Bruce ambled into the room. He gave the blue alien a small smile before turning to the other two occupants.

“Colonel, the Pentagon is on the phone for you. Conference room A. I'll sit with Tony.”

Rhodey nodded and rose, giving Tony's arm a small pat as he left the room. Tony gave his science bro a small, sad smile. Bruce lay his hand on his friends forehead, testing for fever the old fashioned way, before taking Rhodey's seat beside the bed.

“I honestly didn't think I'd ever see you again after I saw that ship leave the atmosphere.” Bruce stated calmly, only the slightest quiver evident in his voice.

“Sorry about that. Strange had one of the Infinity Stones. I couldn't let it just go without trying to get it back. Too much depended on keeping it out of Thanos' hands. Not that it helped, any.” Tony concluded bitterly.

“It's OK, Tony, I'm just glad you're back with us. We'll think of something.” Bruce glanced up at Tony's self appointed bodyguard. “At least that's what Nebula believes. Who am I to say she's wrong?”

Tony shrugged half heartedly, changing the subject quickly.

“Tell me what happened. Where have you been these last few years? What happened here on Earth while I was out trying to be a space cowboy?”

Bruce chuckled, then settled back more comfortably in his chair. 

“Oh boy. Well, let's start at the beginning, just after Johannesburg...”

An hour later, Tony was staring at his fellow scientist in bewilderment.

“So, to sum it up, you've been a space gladiator all this time, Thor had an unknown psycho sister, Asgard is gone and Loki, along with most of Thor's people, are dead.”

“Yes.”

“And there is a talking Raccoon?”

“Yes.”

“In my lab?”

“Yes.”

“There's a talking raccoon in my lab...”

“Well, technically, he's been borrowing tools and tech out of your lab to fix up his spaceship, the one you flew here. It was pretty banged up.”

“That's probably because it was damaged when Thanos threw a moon at me.”

“I heard about that.” Bruce smiled proudly.

“And the Big Guy? Is he still being shy?” 

Bruce frowned.

“Unfortunately, yes. I'm not sure why. I don't think it's because he's afraid.” A sense of indignation stirred in the back of Bruce's mind. “No, definitely not afraid. I just can't put my finger on it. As odd as it may sound, it's like his feelings are hurt, which is an emotion I've never felt from him before. I did get a chance to use your Hulkbuster armor, by the way. Very impressive. You also coded it to my biometrics? Why would you do that?”

Tony gave his friend a satisfied grin. 

“Because, of all the people in the world who I could trust not to abuse it, was you. Now let me talk to Green Bean.” The billionaire leaned forward a bit, gazing into Bruce's eyes, looking deep and searchingly.

“Hulk, buddy? You there?”

After a moment, Bruce's eyes took on a green tinge, and the expression on his face flattened out, morphed just enough that Tony knew that Bruce's persona was subdued sufficiently enough to allow the Hulk to have a surface awareness. The faint green tinge to the other man's skin confirmed it.

“Hey Big Guy, how are you?” Tony smiled. “I missed you. I missed you both. It hasn't been as much fun around here without you. So what's going on with you, huh?”

There was no answer forthcoming from Bruce/Hulk, but his face screwed up in petulant pout. Tony considered him thoughtfully for a bit, before testing out a theory.

“Green Bean, I bet you don't like it when everyone just wants you for what you can do for them, do you?” he spoke softly, knowingly. He saw the moment his words hit as the sadness came into Bruce/Hulks' eyes. 

“Yea, it sucks, doesn't it. I know.” Tony reached out and took his friends hand. “People don't want to put up with you unless they can get something from you. They only want to take advantage of you, right? It gets so frustrating and it hurts, am I right?” [7]

Bruce/Hulk looked down at their clasped hands and rumbled sadly.

“Yea, that's what I thought. You just want to be appreciated for yourself. What you can bring to the table. You want people to stop using you, right buddy? Hey, Big Green, look at me, OK?” Tony squeezed the hand he was holding and Bruce/Hulk obligingly lifted his eyes to the other genius.

“Buddy, I'm so sorry that I did that to you when the aliens came. It was wrong of me. I should have thought about that because people do that to me all the time. I promise I will never, ever take advantage of you again. I will never take you for granted, OK? I'm not going to lie and tell you that you're help in what's coming wouldn't be greatly needed or appreciated, but if you don't want to or you've just had enough, I'm not going to force you or think less of you if you just don't want to deal with it anymore. I can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to do just that. The thing is, Hulk, no matter how much people turn their back on me, hate me, don't appreciate what I'm trying to do or just simply don't like me, I can't give up, because if I do, the people I love will pay the price, so I have to keep going, even though it means I'll never get a thank you, a pat on the back or even a kind word. To me, it's worth the price. But that's something you will have to make up your own mind on. If you don't want to come out to play anymore, it won't mean that I will like you any less, OK? You'll always be my friend, no matter what.”

Bruce felt the surprise and pleasure seeping through his consciousness and both of his persona's participated in the smile they turned on Tony.

“Thank you.” The voice that came out was an odd mixture of Bruce and the low, rumbled tone of the Hulk.

Both Tony and Bruce, by unspoken consent, let the matter drop. Bruce reached for the TV remote and flicked on the TV so that Tony could catch up on current world events, but it wasn't long before exhaustion pulled the sick man back under again. 

AAA

That night Tony's fever spiked. It wasn't unanticipated. It was a well known fact that fever temperatures typically rose at night, but it was alarming, nonetheless. Helen injected higher doses of fever reducers into Tony's IV to help, but he still slipped into fever delirium. 

He called out to people who weren't there to hear him, faces swirling in and out of a shifting fog of events and memories. Obidiah's face became Howard's face became Steve's face became Peter's face became Pepper's face and so on. Sometimes the words he heard were comforting and loving. More often, however, there were looming bodies and harsh, cutting voices.

He gained some lucidity in the wee hours of the morning, wrung out and trembling, to find Roberta Rhodes leaning over him, tenderly wiping his fevered face and neck with a cold, damp cloth. His voice caught in his throat.

“Mama Rhodes?”

“I'm here, baby. Look at what you've done to yourself this time.” she soothed. Tony's hand came up and touched her cheek tenderly.

“I'm so glad to see you. Where'd Rhodey get off to?”

A glint of pride came into her eyes. “He's taken over as the leader of the Avengers. He's in D.C. meeting with what's left of the Accords Council later this morning.”

Tony smiled sadly. “He should have been in charge all along, Roberta. Maybe we wouldn't have made such a mess of things if he'd been at the wheel.” 

She shushed him.

“You just rest, young man. My James and I are here to take care of you. You need to sleep and heal, honey.”

“I don't have time to be sick. Everyone is expecting me to fix this and I haven't the first clue how.” 

She ran a soothing hand through his damp hair.

“Tony, honey, I've known you since you were a scrawny 15 year old. I've seen you do the impossible. You are far stronger than you ever give yourself credit for. If anyone can do this, you can. We'll all be here to help in any way we can. You don't have to do this alone.”

“I've lost Pepper, Mama. I've lost her and Peter and half the team. The other half hate me and... I just don't know if I'm as strong as you think I am. I don't feel like it. I feel pretty damn weak at the moment...” He gasped out, tears springing to his eyes. He sat up further in bed and wrapped his arms around the elderly woman. She gathered him close and stroked his back.

“Oh, sweetie, it's not fair that you should have the weight of the world on your shoulders. It's never been fair. God don't give someone more than they can bear, but damn if he don't try.” 

The first sob that ripped through him caught Tony by surprise. He tried to stifle the second, but it was stronger than his will to do so. The tears coursed down his cheeks in rivers and he gave himself over to them, clinging to Roberta as if she were a lifeline to a world of safety and sanity. He shook with his grief and wept for everything lost, both to himself and the universe. 

Outside of his door, Steve Rogers stood, head bowed. He had come to check on the sick man, concerned when he'd heard that the fever had returned with a vengeance. He'd not meant to eavesdrop, but his enhanced hearing hadn't given him that choice. He turned on his heel and strode away, leaving Tony to his sorrow and the comfort of a friends arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [7] [Directors: Why won't Hulk come out](https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/infinity-war-directors-explain-the-real-reason-hulk-wont-come-out-why-we-didnt-see-happy)


	6. Chapter 6

Near dawn, the fever came down again and Tony fell into a deep sleep.

At mid-morning, Tony slowly exited the bathroom on wobbly legs, tethered to his ever-present IV pole and helped by an attentive nurse, to find a three foot tall, bipedal, leather clad raccoon sitting on his bed. He stopped in his tracks, then blinked slowly.

“Um, OK. I guess this is happening.” On the other side of the room, he heard Nebula snort.

“It's happening, ya moron, so get your ass back in bed so's I can ask you some questions.” Rocket growled.

Tony teetered dangerously but clung to the IV pole and his helpful nurse, Emilio, as he complied with the “request” and slid back into bed. He sunk back onto his pillows gratefully, even as he hated every moment of his infirmity and weakness. 

“You must be Rocket?”

“That would be me, yea. You're the so-called genius that everyone..” he glanced up at the blue skinned assassin “... thinks is going to save us all.” he sneered. “Gotta say, you and that Wakandan gal have got some pretty sweet stuff, but I've seen better.”

Tony just raised an eyebrow.

“Well, maybe it's not the quality of equipment, but how you use it.” he quipped, leering obnoxiously. 

“Oh yea, we're going to get along just fine.” Rocket cackled before sobering, a shadow of sorrow chasing through his eyes. “I want you to tell me about the rest of my crew. Nebs has told me what she could, but she came late to the party. She was there to see them... to see them dusted, but I wanna know what happened before that.”

Tony ran a hand through his hair and squinted at the diminutive Guardian. 

“Well, first off, your Star Lord is an asshole...”

Rocket hacked out a surprised snort, then laughed. Yea, he and this Iron Guy were going to get along great.

AAA

Steve, Bruce, Helen and Rocket were seated around the breakfast bar as Mama Rhodes served up homemade chili and refrigerator biscuits when Rhodey walked through the adjoining hallway, accompanied by a newly-red headed Natasha. The ex-assassin was dressed sharply in an Alexander McQueen black pencil skirt and jacket combo with a hint of red at throat and wrists. Her hair was pulled up in an elegant chignon, garnets dangled from her ears and her black Louboutin shoes with their signature red soles had heels high enough to easily stab a man through the heart. All in all, she was the very epitome of chic, powerful and all Black Widow. 

Steve and Bruce stared wide eyed at her as her heels clicked menacingly across the floor, one well-manicured hand wrapped around a bulging folder. Rhodey walked along side of her, head tilted, talking in low tones and nodding occasionally to her responses. They were out of sight a moment later. Happy's voice came from the direction of the foyer before the sound of the front door closed and the returning footsteps of only one person. Rhodey stepped into the kitchen, gave his mother a kiss on the cheek and sat himself at the breakfast bar with his fellow Avengers. Helen and Roberta hadn't batted an eye during the entire exchange.

“What was all that about?” Steve queried.

Rhodey just smiled and tucked into a bowl of chili. 

“Keep an eye on the news, boys. This afternoon should be interesting.” 

AAA

 

Steve stepped up to the door of Tony's room. The afternoon sun was shining in the window and it gave the room a warm glow. Tony, washed out and pale, watched a round-the-clock news station listlessly as they reported on the ongoing fallout across the world after The Snap. More and more news stations were coming back online as power was restored in the areas that had lost it and knowledgable people were brought in. One odd by-product of The Snap was that older people who had previously been marginalized or discriminated against because of their age were now in high demand again, if they had survived, because there was a shortage of experienced people in all fields of employment across the world. The over 50 population were stepping up in force.

Steve glanced at Nebula, sitting now in a comfortable chair Tony had insisted be brought in for her, and she gave him an appraising once over before nodding. He cleared his throat to gain Tony's attention and the genius turned his weary gaze on the super soldier. They regarded each other silently for a moment before Tony sighed resignedly and tilted his head toward the empty chair beside his bed. Steve let out a breath and moved across the room.

As he settled into the chair, the super soldier took the opportunity to look the billionaire over. Tony looked exhausted and limp, bruises standing out in high contrast on his too pale skin. His cheeks were flushed an unnatural dull red hue and his fever bright eyes looked too large and luminous. The sick man wore loose sleep pants and no top so the white bandages wrapping his torso stood out harshly, hiding the hideous stab wound that had been recently reopened, cleaned and stitched up. Still, he looked a hell of a lot better than he had 4 days ago when that ship has landed.

Steve scrubbed his hands on his jean clad knees for a second, thrown off stride by Tony's unusual reticence, then sighed deeply.

“I'm sorry about the kid. You said his name when you were out of it. Peter, right? I'm sorry you had to go through that. I heard about Pepper, too.”

Tony looked away, muttering. “He shouldn't have been there. I sent him home and somehow he got back on that ship. He disobeyed me and now he's dead.”

“I hear disobeying is kind of the norm with teenagers.” Steve attempted a small smile. Tony huffed, acknowledging the olive branch for what it was.

“It's not the first time, that's true, but it's still on me. I'm the adult here. I should have turned that ship around, stones be damned, and brought him back home. I wanted to fight Thanos away from Earth, though, so this is on me.”

“He would probably have been dusted if he was still on Earth, Tony.” Steve placated.

“Maybe...” Tony glanced up at the super soldier. “I'm sorry about Bucky and the others. This sucks for everyone.  
I know you have no reason to believe that I'm sorry, but I am. If Rhodey would have been gone, too, I'm pretty sure I would have just given up by now.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes until Steve couldn't take it any more.

“So... you're not going to yell at me?”

Tony sighed, shaking his head. “Steve, it hardly matters any more. I feel . . . numb and I'm too tired to be angry. I've got nothing left. At one time, I thought what you did, how you lied to me, was one of the worst things that anyone had ever done to me. Now I can't seem to bring myself to care. It seems so irrelevant. And you?”

“Half the time I feel like I'm back in the ice and half the time I'm just overwhelmed.” the super soldier shuddered. “Nothing makes sense. It's too much to take in. Everything just seems... too much and I feel... detached. I'm just so, so sorry about everything. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness for what I did and I know we didn't part on good terms, Tony, but when I thought you were gone, after losing Bucky and Wanda and Sam, I...” he trailed off.

“I should have called, Steve. I was too proud and too stubborn and too hurt. After I calmed down, I knew, in my head, if not in my heart, that Bucky wasn't personally responsible for his actions, but I couldn't bring myself to call you and tell you that and I should have. Looking back, I should have done a lot of things. I should have explained things better. I should have sat Wanda down and told her about the angry crowds protesting her and burning her in effigy. I should have explained how the government wanted to yank her visa. I should have touched base with you months earlier about what I knew was coming instead of just assuming that you all knew. I knew the Accords were going to happen whether we wanted them to or not, and I wanted us to stand united and change them from the inside, but I didn't go about it the right way, and for that I'm sorry. I get so wrapped up in my own head that I just expect everyone to keep up with my crazy brain and I forget that I just need to slow down sometimes and talk it out and then I get annoyed that everyone's not on the same page as I am.”

“Tony,” Steve shook his head, “there's plenty of blame to go around. I didn't tell you I was searching for Bucky and I certainly didn't tell you about your parents and I am so, so sorry about that. You should never have had to find out the way you did. I acted the way I did for all the wrong reasons. They were selfish and personal and you have no idea how ashamed I am for how things went down. I was angry that you didn't side with us, that you were working with Ross, of all people.” 

Tony held up a hand to stop him and Steve trailed to a halt. Tony gathered his thoughts for a moment.

“It's easy,” he mused aloud, “to forget how young you are, Steve. I'm guilty of that, too. You come across so confident that, 70 year sleep aside, I tend to forget that you are 15 years younger than me. You've only had a few short years to learn the geo-political history of the last seven decades. You weren't born into this complicated era, it doesn't come naturally to you. As for joining you on the run, I want you to bear something in mind, OK? I know most of you don't see me as a responsible, mature person, but I have so much more to think about than just the Avengers. So much of the time, I have no choice but to wallow around in the mud with assholes like Ross, because it's not just me that I have to consider. Steve, I own the 27th largest company in the world and, while it's not completely dependent on me to keep running, a large chunk of the stock does move up or down depending on my actions.

“While Pepper runs my company, I'm still the owner, the head of Research and Development and the largest stockholder. There are 457,097 employees that work for various Stark Industry companies, subsidiaries and affiliates. [8] They depend on my company for their livelihood. Now lets say that every one of those employees are responsible for two other people, some will have more, some less, so this is an average. That's 1.3 million people who depend, in some way, on the money they make working for me, and that's not even counting the vendors that we purchase our raw goods from and the money that goes in to their pockets and the pockets of their employees. Do you see what I'm saying, Steve?”

Steve nodded, eyes wide in comprehension. “I never really thought about it, I guess.”

“That's why I can't just up and run or thumb my nose at what our government is doing. Too many people depend on me. And I did agree with a lot of what the Accords were about. I did want more oversight and accountability, the same as any other professional. We should be held to the same standards as doctors or lawyers or paramedics or psychologists or, Hell, even engineers. The police, the military, and disaster rescue teams all have mandatory oversight and licensing. Anyone who serves the public have to register, Steve, even nurses like your mother, who also had to be licensed. It's how we know that these people have had the right training and are qualified in their fields to do the job of protecting people to the best of their ability and, if things go wrong, there are steps in place to figure out why and corrective measures to take. There were things I really, really hated about those documents, but that's why I mentioned amendments. And the one thing that you argued the most about, that you were afraid that we would just be used as a personal strike team, there was nothing in the Accords that said you couldn't have simply said 'no, I will not take this assignment'.”

Tony ran out of steam and seemed to wilt into the bed, enervated and drained.

“Ok, I really didn't intend to do that.” he mumbled.

Steve gave him a small, sad smile and patted his arm. “Yea, looks like you still have a little fire in you.”

Tony huffed out a breath. “Whatever.”

“This is the most we've talked in years.” Steve opined sorrowfully. “If we had done this all along... Tony, I can't get it out of my head that, if we'd been fighting together during this whole Thanos mess, we would have won.”

Tony contemplated that for a moment, brows scrunched together to form deep grooves above his nose. The TV still droned on in the background. “It's weird, now that you mention it, but yea. Yea. We've been idiots, Steve, and the world, Hell the entire universe, is paying the price for our pride and stubbornness.” He threw an arm up over his eyes with a miserable groan. They again lapsed into silence. Long minutes passed before Tony lowered his arm, cutting a wary glace in Steve's direction.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked tentatively. Steve glanced up from a serious contemplation of his knees and raised a brow. Tony took that as permission.

“You and Barnes... I mean, I get the whole brotherhood thing. I'd do almost anything for my Rhodey-bear, but...but you and Barnes seem... very close...” he trailed off uncertainly. A light dusting of color rose in Steve's cheeks.

“Tony,” he chastised softly, “you know that sort of thing wasn't condoned back in the 40's.” His eyes slid away guiltily.

“Yea, OK.” the older man interjected hastily. “It's just... you know, it's not the 40's anymore.” 

Steve smiled bitterly. “I guess it hardly matters anymore, does it? Can I ask you something, now?”

“You can ask. I can't promise that I'll answer.”

“Fair enough,” Steve allows. “Do you... do you think we can be friends again? Trust each other?”

The silence stretched out between them for several long moments before Tony let's out a long sigh. “Steve, I really can't answer you about the friend thing. I'm... I'm not in a good place right now and that's something I'm not prepared to even think about at the moment. As for trusting... if we're facing a common enemy on the battlefield I can absolutely trust you to have my back. Other than that, I... I just can't see that ever happening again. I'm sorry.”

Steve bowed his head but nodded in acknowledgment.

Before Tony could say anything more, the scene on the TV switched back to the studio announcer.

“We have breaking news. We are taking you live to Stark Industries New York headquarters. Wolf, what can you tell us?”

“Well, Sandra, we're standing in the conference room here at Stark Industries New York where Colonel James Rhodes has called a press conference. As you can see, the room is overflowing with press. No one knows what the subject of this press conference is but there's been speculation that, with the disappearance, or what people are calling the 'dusting', of CEO Pepper Potts and the MIA status of Tony Stark, we are here to witness a changeover in leadership.”

Tony and Steve looked at each other, then turned their attention back to the TV. This was going to be explosive, they knew. Steve wondered if this had anything to do with how Natasha was dressed this morning. The door behind the podium opened and Rhodey, dressed immaculately in his Air Force dress uniform with all medals proudly on display, stepped forward, followed by a smartly suited Happy Hogan and Natasha in all her high powered glory. There was an audible gasp from the crowd at the sight of the infamous Black Widow.

Rhodey took his place at the podium. 

“Thank you all for coming today.” he began. “First off, I'm very happy to say that, four days ago, Tony Stark returned from his trip to space.” 

The room erupted. Rhodey held out a hand. “I'll answer your questions later. Tony returned with the help of a friend he made while off world. He sustained a significant injury but is in the process of receiving the best medical care available. We expect a full recovery.” 

Tony wasn't sure if Rhodey was being overly optimistic at this point, but he smiled just the same. His best friend continued. 

“During his healing process and the Avengers ongoing efforts to mitigate and analyze the events that took place a week ago, Tony has appointed Natasha Romanoff and Happy Hogan as temporary co-CEO's of Stark Industries. I have the Accords Council's blessing on Ms. Romanoff's status.” he turned to Natasha, whom Happy had enthusiastically volunteered to be their public spokesperson, and motioned her forward. Natasha stepped gracefully up to the microphone, looking every inch the confident CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

“Thank you, Colonel Rhodes. While I'm sure you have many questions, I first want to assure you that Mr. Hogan and I have every confidence that Stark Industries will rise to the demands that recent events have forced us in to. Our employees are dedicated and determined, from the scientists right down to the janitors. Stark industries will not falter in its efforts to help in this time of crisis and I can assure you, on behalf of myself and Mr. Hogan, that we will not allow the company to come to harm under our stewardship.” At this, she turned a steely gaze directly in to the camera before sweeping it around the room at the assembled reporters. Several of them took a step back under the glare of the Black Widow. Several reporters, however, raised their hands. Natasha pointed to one.

“Can you tell us exactly what happened a week ago?” 

“That will be the subject of another press conference, I'm sure. We are here to talk about Stark Industries.”

Another hand went up. “So Tony Stark is alive? Where was he? How badly injured is he?”

The questions kept coming, after that. Natasha handled them adroitly, being informative without giving too much information away and simply giving a “no comment” in some cases. 

Tony turned his head back to Steve, then looked toward Nebula, who remained as impassive as ever. 

“Steve, get me out of this bed. I've lain about long enough. There's work to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [8] The 27th largest company in the world, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, really does have 457,097 employees. 
> 
> It's canon in the comic books that Tony is an amazing employer; caring, generous and equal opportunity.  
> His employees are very loyal.
> 
> Beware, thar be much comic book science ahead, although it will sound so damn reasonable!


	7. Chapter 7

Despite Tony's declaration Helen had firmly put her foot down and denied Tony's freedom from his hospital bed. She had, however, granted him a Starkpad, which he had been entirely engrossed in until Roberta Rhodes had come in with his dinner and stood by while he finished it. A bland, nutritious meal that was necessary, but not appealing to the billionaire. The continued use of the powerful antibiotic made his stomach extremely nauseous and he had, embarrassingly, vomited several times. Holding down food was a challenge. The compound was enjoying a run on 7-up at the moment because of this. Shortly after, as evening set in, Tony's fever spiked yet again, much to Helen and Bruce's frustration. The high powered Vancomycin seemed to be holding the worst of the alien infection at bay, but it wasn't healing Tony. They tried not to show it, but the two doctors were beginning to really worry. As they left Mama Rhodes once again mopping Tony's fevered brow with cold compresses, Helen drew Bruce into her office.

“I'm not sure what to do from here. If the strongest antibiotic on earth isn't beating this bacteria down, what else do we have?” she worriedly nibbled on a thumb.

Bruce shook his head. “I don't know, Dr. Cho. Why don't we contact Shuri to see if she's made any progress. FRIDAY? Can you put us through to Queen Shuri, please?”

When the hologram connected, they were greeted by the young woman's tired face. The happy, bubbly, energetic girl of over a week ago was gone. She seemed to have aged into a mature woman over night. Shuri nodded her head regally to the two doctors.

“It is fortunate that you have called. I was about to call you. I believe I may have something for you. I have studied the bacteria in Mr. Starks blood and the affect that the Vancomycin has on it. I think I have come upon an altered version of the antibiotic, which contains trace amounts of Vibranium in it, that may work. Of course, this is not tested nor approved in any country in the world and, in normal circumstances, would be years in the approval process, but I'm afraid we do not have that luxury. If my calculations are correct, if we do not defeat this bacteria within the next week or two, it will begin to shut down Mr. Starks organs and he will be dead before a month is out. Can you please have Mr. Wong portal over and pick it up? I have manufactured what I believe are enough doses to do the job.” She smiled grimly. “If what our new, blue alien friend believes is true, then I will do everything in my power to keep Mr. Stark alive. My brother's life, and the lives of all the Wakandan's who vanished, may depend upon it.” 

AAA

The following morning, a despondent Ned Leeds showed up at the the compound gates. FRIDAY patched him through via video feed to Tony, who was receiving his first dose of the altered antibiotic. Ned looked at Tony, eyes puffy and lips trembling.

“I... I saw on T.V. that you were back from space. I don't... I don't have anywhere else to go, Mr. Stark. My Mom's gone, I can't find M.J. and I don't have any other relatives. Pete's gone, May's gone...” his voice wobbled.

Tony held up his hand to stop the traumatized young man. 

“Of course you can stay here, Ned. FRIDAY, open the gate and tell Roberta I've got someone I want her to meet. Ned, I'll see you in a few.”

Mama Rhodes, 70 years old and a force of nature, was waiting at the front door when FRIDAY opened it to reveal the grief stricken boy. Sweeping him in to her arms, she drew him in.

Later, as Bruce ambled past the door to Tony's room in the Med Bay, he saw a young man in earnest, low toned conversation with the billionaire. Both of them had suspiciously red, puffy eyes.

AAA

Rhodey stepped in to the kitchen, glancing around to see who was about and pleasantly surprised to see that it was everyone but Natasha and Happy, who were at Stark headquarters in the city, and Helen Cho, who had taken herself and her staff off to Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City to help with the relief efforts. His mother was slicing raw steak into very thin strips, in preparation for making steak fajitas for lunch and Rhodey was pleased to see that Ned was busy slicing red and green bell peppers. Rhodey's mother may have been a very formidable woman, but she was 70 and, as the inhabitants of the compound seemed to be growing steadily, she could use an assistant to help manage this lot. And manage them she would, Rhodey knew. His mother could be like a General ordering her troops when the spirit moved her and Rhodey was amused to see that Steve was at the sink peeling several onions. His soft “Yes, ma'am.” when she commanded him to slice the onions thinner tickled the Colonel to no end. 

“Excuse me.” he interrupted. His mother smiled gently at her boy. “Mom, I hate to take one of your helpers, but Tony is calling a meeting of the Avengers in the small conference room.”

Steve visibly perked up. “FRIDAY, can you notify Rocket and Bruce, please?”

They found Tony slumped in a chair at the head of the conference table with one hand around an ambulatory IV pole and flanked by a scowling Nebula. He looked grumpy but determined. As they sat, he called out to FRIDAY.

“Baby girl, get Nat on, too, please. We'll need her, as well.” As soon as the video feed was established, the tired genius looked at the meagre remains of the Avengers and sighed. “OK, I've been watching and listening to news feeds almost non-stop the last couple of days. God knows there's nothing else to do while I'm stuck in that fucking bed. 

“What I'm hearing is a lot of nonsense. Half the world believes that their governments are feeding them a line of bullshit about an alien invasion and the other half thinks we've had some kind of massive religious event. There's nothing but chaos out there. There's riots and mass suicides and god damned religious zealots stirring up trouble. We may not be able to do much about it, but we've got to do something. I need all of your input on the events as you witnessed them and your opinions on what you heard and observed. Then I'm calling a press conference for three o'clock this afternoon and we'll see if we can't knock some sense in to a few people.”

“Tony,” Steve said, “You can barely stand at the moment and you want to go on TV?”

The sick man gave him a shark-like grin. “Cap, I've gone on stage drunk, high, half-dead and sometimes a combination of all three with no one the wiser. This'll be a piece of cake. Just stay close in case I swoon like a damsel in distress.”

AAA

Tony stood at the podium in the largest conference room at the compound, flanked by Colonel James Rhodes on one side and Captain America on the other. 

He was pale and drawn, looking a decade older than his 46 years. [9] Steve doubted if anyone else could see the trembling of the billionaire’s hands from the distance of the audience, but he could. He kept a careful eye on Tony, ready to catch him should he go down. They should have postponed this another day but the older man was adamant that it had to be done as expediently as possible. He noticed that Colonel Rhodes stood close enough to shore his friend up, as well, should he falter.

Tony’s voice, however, was resolute and strong as he addressed the massive crowd of reporters. The room was packed as tight as could be safely achieved. 

“Thank you for coming and thank you for all the expressions of concern that have been coming in. As you can probably tell, I’m a bit under the weather but I’m on the road to recovery. I’ve come to address the events of last week. You have been told by your various governments that what we experienced was an alien incursion. This is true. The reports are not a coverup for a divine or spiritual event. I’ve heard that story has been making the rounds. There was nothing even remotely holy about this. It was a brutal invasion by a power-mad alien warlord who is called, appropriately enough, the Mad Titan. His name is Thanos. He and his army of Chitauri were behind the 2012 invasion in New York City. We were able to turn him back at that time. We weren’t so lucky this time.

“There have been questions as to why events took place in the African nation of Wakanda and not elsewhere. Thanos was after a particular artifact and it happened to be in Wakanda. The Wakandan's fought with everything they had and they fought bravely and well, but in the end, Thanos was able to obtain the artifact. There was, very briefly, an artifact in New York, as well, which is why you saw ships above the city. Obtaining these artifacts was the last piece of a larger plan that was then set in motion. 

“I had the unfortunate opportunity to speak with this monster while attempting to stop him before he reached earth and it is one of my greatest regrets that I and my companions were unable to prevent him from reaching our planet. His plan was simple and delusional. He felt that, in order to restore balance to the universe and to allow worlds where resources are overburdened to be restored, that the best option was to eliminate half of all life in the universe. He achieved this, not only on Earth, but on every planet throughout the universe.

“There was no divine justice or master plan involved here. There was simply a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur. My colleagues and I are looking at all the information and options. We don’t want to give anyone false hope, but if there is a way that this can be reversed, or fixed in any way, we will not rest until we have discovered it. 

“I am here today to pledge myself to this cause. What we, the Avengers, want from you is to become ordinary heroes. Help those that are struggling. Help to fill in the gaps that were left by the disappearances. Make use of resources that you normally wouldn't think of. There are plenty of gifted and knowledgable people out there that are willing to help. They may be retired or marginalized or educated in another country but unable to work in their current country due to government restrictions. If you are one of these people, step up and let someone know you have skills that can be useful. Rise to the occasion. We can all be heroes in our own right. Now is the time. Thank you.”

Tony waved off any questions and strode as confidently as he could from the room. Once out of sight of the reporters, however, he sagged and stumbled slightly. Rhodey caught his arm and assisted him into the waiting wheel chair, where he was whisked back to his room in the Med Bay and his waiting IV. Tony was asleep withing a minute of laying his head on the pillow. 

AAA

Within 2 hours of the press conference, the President was video conferencing with Tony and the rest of the Avengers.

Two days after the press conference, on a soft May evening with rain falling gently, Clint walked in to the compound with vacant eyes and a young girl in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [9] According to the newly released official [MCU timeline](https://movieweb.com/mcu-movie-timeline-marvel/) Ironman 2 (and Tony's 40th birthday party) happened in 2011 and Infinity War happened in 2017, which would make Tony 46 years old and Peter 16 when he was ashed.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony sat on a stool in his workshop flicking through luminescent blue hologram screens with an astonishing speed, eyes darting back and forth as the data swirled by. He had finally managed to escape the Med Bay and had immediately beat a retreat to his workshop/lab. The very first thing he had tackled was to repair and restock his nano-tech ARC, which once again sat on his chest. The genius didn't know if he was being paranoid or just generally traumatized, but he couldn't help the feeling of vulnerability that crept up on him now without the suit being instantly available. He wouldn't be going without it again.

Tony glanced at the door again. He'd been expecting Mama Rhodes or Bruce to come and pester him about slipping the Med Bay leash, but so far no one had come to corral him. Steve had left in the pre-dawn hours on a motorcycle for New York to help with more post-Snap clean up and Rhodey had departed for the U.N. two hours later. Nat was at S.I. with Happy, who seemed to live there these days, and Nebula was actually sleeping, which was the only reason Tony had been able to liberate himself from the confines of his sick bed. Once free, however, he was determined not to go back. 

The genius turned his attention back to his work. The hologram screens before him contained detailed scans of the Mind Stone from the time of Ultron and, afterwards, Vision. On another screen were scans of the energy signatures given off by the Tesseract during the battle of New York. Although Jarvis had died, there was still hard-coded data stored on servers that had been shuffled off to server farms which were only peripherally connected to Jarvis’ personality. The sentient AI had stored data on remote servers for future retrieval, if necessary and was tethered to those servers only when necessary. Thus, when Jarvis had sacrificed his core to create Vision, most of the hard, cold, factual data; millions of petabytes of information that would have bogged his personal systems down, where still available to Tony. 

Screen after screen of the retrieved information spooled out from the deep, underground server farm buried beneath the compound. Tony had several other server farms scattered about the world, but the information he needed now was right here where Jarvis had left it. He pulled up new screens and linked in to what was left of his Ironman armor. Even though FRIDAY had not been tethered to him during his trip through the galaxy, the suit still sustained the capability to scan the surroundings on Titan. As damaged as the armor had been, it had still retained enough integrity to store the terabytes of data gathered on their sojourn in to space. Tony looked through readouts on the Infinity stones that included alpha, beta, gamma and neutron radiation levels, electromagnetic waves such as microwaves, infrared, optical light, ultraviolet, X-ray and Gamma rays, photovoltaic energy, sound wavelengths, amplitudes and frequencies, and everything in between. He had been fortunate to have been able to spend a while with the Time Stone while in Strange’s company but the readings on the remaining stones were sporadic and rushed during the course of battle. Still, he had detailed readings on three out of the six Infinity Stones and partial readings on the other three, which was more information than he had ever thought to have. Now to make heads or tails out of the whole mish mash.

A crash, followed by a curse, filtered in from the storage room next door. Tony pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. Rocket was scrounging parts for his beloved Benetar again and everything appeared to be fair game for the larcenous raccoon. Tony suspected that the Benetar was now fully repaired and the little thief was only looking for trinkets and parts just because he could. He was probably bored, too, Tony decided. 

Another soft sound brought his head around and he was surprised to find Clint Barton, of all people, in the doorway to his lab. A little girl clung to him silently and Tony’s mind supplied a name, Lila, from a memory of an idyllic farm in the middle of nowhere. She was probably around eight, he estimated, but her eyes looked older, now, than they should have. Tony’s eyes flickered down to the child before giving her a soft smile and motioning the pair forward. Clint eyed the ever present IV stand still tethered to Tony 24/7. It was Tony’s constant companion as well as a constant irritation. Better than being stuck in bed, however. Clint sat on another stool nearby and hoisted the little girl up into his lap, where she immediately lay her head listlessly on his shoulder, clinging to her father like a limpet and staring at Tony with dull eyes. The archers eyes looked just as empty but with a tinge of desperation sparking in them.

“Tasha told me about your little vacation in space.” Clint murmured, eyeing the bulging bandages that were clearly defined under Tony’s body hugging wife-beater. Tony smiled grimly.

“Yes, well, the trip gets a 1 star out of 5 on Yelp. Not recommended.”

Clint grimaced and opened his mouth to speak when another clatter sounded from the storage room and, with a snarl, Rocket stomped out of it.

“All your stuff is crap, Stark!”

Both men were astonished when the silent little girl straightened abruptly, a look of lively interest on her face and her eyes bright for the first time in, what Tony suspected, over a week. She slid off of her father’s lap, ignoring his “Lila!” and padded softly over to the startled rodent. Rocket took a step back, a look of apprehension on his face and a paw coming up.

“Ahhhhh, yeaaaa, hey. Kids, hoo boy, yea, um…” he stuttered. She ignored him, however, and reached out to gently stroke her hand over his head. She was only a foot, give or take an inch or two, taller than the alien. By far the closest in heights to each other than anyone else in the compound. Rocket looked a bit panicked as she moved from petting him to putting her arms around his neck.

“Hey, hey hey! I’m not a toy, missy!” he said. 

“Can you play with me?” Lila whispered softly.

“Rocket,” Tony interrupted, “I’d like to talk to Clint for a bit.” He gave the raccoon a meaningful look before pointedly turning his gaze to Lila and back again. “Do you think you could show her a real space ship for a bit?” Rocket stared at him in horror for a long moment before wilting. “Yea, fine, whatever. Come on, princess. I’ve got a game on my ship that… that a friend of mine used to love.” He took her hand with his paw and led her out of the workshop, pausing once to throw a venomous look over his shoulder at the two men. Clint chewed on his lip worriedly for a bit.

“Do you think she’ll be OK with him?”

“He’s all bark and no bite. I think he’s got a soft heart, underneath all that snark.”

Clint turned back to the older man.

“I… I know we were at each other’s throats the last time we saw each other but… I saw your news conference. If you have even the smallest chance of reversing this, Stark, I want to be a part of it. I’ll do whatever you say. I’ll be your ‘Yes’ man. I’ll sign the Accords or anything else you want me to sign or do or…”

Tony stopped him with an upraised hand, viewing the desperate man with sadness. “Clint, stop. You don’t have to do anything at all for me. I don’t even know how you are hanging on. I lost P…Pepper…” he stuttered brokenly, heaving a breath in before continuing in a wavering voice “and a kid who wasn’t mine but I would have been proud to have called my son and I’m barely hanging on. I don’t know how you are doing it.” 

Clint’s eyes turn toward the doorway where Lila had disappeared through. “I don’t have a choice, Tony. As much as I want to curl up and die, I gotta be there for her. She’s all I’ve got, now, apart from the Avengers. No choice. I gotta be strong for her.”

Tony nodded, eyes downcast. Clint glanced at all of the holograms spewing out data and turned hopeful eyes on Tony. “Any ideas?”

The genius barked out a broken laugh. “No. A stupid, fucking sorcerer gave up an Infinity Stone to save my life, at the expense of half the fucking universe and said it was the only way to win. Nebula seems to think that means I’m some kind of fucking savior or something, that I’m destined to save the world, Hell, HALF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, and I don’t have the first clue what to do. Talk about performance anxiety.” He trailed off, scrubbing his hands over his face.

“You’ll figure it out, Tony, you always do.” Clint said, surprising him with the confidence in his voice. Tony looked up again.

“Just like you, I don't have a choice, Clint. I gotta get… I gotta get Pep and Peter back. I’ll spend the rest of my life, if I have to, and I’ll do anything, anything at all, to make that happen; for me, for you, for Ned, for Lila and Rocket and everyone else. But, God, I’m not sure how I’m going to carry this weight.”

Clint stood and placed a hand on the older man’s shoulder. “With help. With our help.”

AAA

“Mrs. Rhodes, that was an amazing meal. You are a treasure.” Bruce sighed contentedly. Roberta beamed. They sat around the dining room table, Lila and Rocket both in booster seats that Steve had run out to Walmart for, and enjoyed an after dinner cup of coffee or juice. 

“Thank you. I enjoy cooking. Don't get much chance to do it, these days, when it's just me. This makes me feel useful. Like Tony said in his speech, we all have to do our part. You've all been doing your part so taking care of the Avengers? Well, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing.” she beamed and Rhodey's face radiated pride. Ned nodded his head enthusiastically and the gathered crowd smiled at them both. FRIDAY's Irish lilt broke in to the conversation.

“Boss? I've been monitoring the news feeds and I think there's something you should know. There's been a rising movement that think what the Purple Grape did was a good thing.” FRIDAY had taken to using Ned's slang for Thanos and Ned couldn't have been prouder. Nebula scowled thunderously.

“Explain!”

Clint raised a hand to stop the conversation and turned to Ned. 

“Hey, would you want to take Lila to the media room and play Mario Cart with her? It's one of her favorites.” he asked politely, giving the young man a pointed look. Ned immediately caught on and jumped up. 

“Sure! Lila, I bet FRIDAY's got every version of Mario Cart ever made, even the Wii games. Wanna go see?” 

The eight year old gave her father a gimlet eye, not fooled by his blatant fatherly shielding efforts, but nodded anyway and jumped down to follow the amiable teenager from the room. Clint gestured for FRIDAY to continue.

“I've had numerous reports of groups who've declared that what Thanos did was a wise move and they've announced that they are now disciples of Thanos.” This got a disgusted look from everyone at the table, but Nebula's expression was down right murderous. “I've been keeping track of broadcasts with certain red flag words that feature events or names surrounding The Snap and there are several fanatical groups that have risen since the event. What has caught my attention enough to mention it now, though, is that the Avengers, and specifically you, Boss, are being mentioned more and more in their public ravings. They aren't fans, Boss. In fact, some of them are saying that you are trying to interfere in 'Thanos' divine will' and are calling for you to be stopped.”

At this several worried glances were exchanged around the table. Even Rocket, who normally pretended to be blasé and casually cool about everything, had a black look. Steve looked alarmed. 

“FRIDAY, is Tony in danger?” 

“I believe so, yes. There have been several death threats. Some have been against the Avengers in general but all of the threats have mentioned Boss.” 

Nebula growled low in her throat but Tony leaned over and patted her hand.

“Chill out, Nebs, I've been getting death threats my entire life and I'm still here.” he soothed. Steve frowned.

“How can you live like that?” Steve exclaimed

“Because I've known no other way, Cap.” Tony answered serenely. Rhodey caught Steve, Clint and Nebula's eyes, giving them an infinitesimal nod. They'd keep an eye on the genius. Steve rose from the table. 

“I'd better give Nat and Happy a heads up so they can keep a weather eye out, too.”

Nebula turned a bewildered look on Tony. “Why would anyone think this is a good thing?” 

It was Bruce who answered, however. “The world is a very weird and scary place and, frankly, I'm not even surprised that there are groups of people who think that the death of half the worlds population is actually a good thing. There will always be extremists and hate groups. It's humanity's biggest flaw. Our diversity is one of our greatest gifts, but it can also be one of our greatest perils.”

Nebula just shook her head. “Madness...” she mumbled.

AAA

Later, lounging on the couches in the media room, Rhodey, Steve, Roberta, Ned and Bruce watched the news as Tony dozed, slumped against Rhodey's shoulder, the tube of his IV line draped over the back of the couch to the IV pole. He still tired so easily. Roberta rose to drape a colorful afghan over her honorary son and paused as movement caught her eye. She and the other's, apart from the slumbering genius, looked up to see Rocket scuttling furtively across the far end of the room, looking over one shoulder as he scurried hastily in one side of the room and out the other. Momentarily, Lila burst into the room, looking about with a determined little gleam in her eye, peeked under a couple of pieces of furniture and once behind the curtains, then disappeared out the same door that Rocket had. A few seconds later, Clint strolled in, leisurely following in his daughter's path before he, too, ambled out of the room. The occupants of the media room shared confused looks.

“I don't even want to know.” Rhodey stated.

AAA

The following day, Helen Cho returned to the compound to compare notes with Bruce and give Tony a check up. Bruce had been changing the bandages around Tony's torso every day, keeping a sharp eye out for infection, especially with the foreign bacteria in his blood. Helen was pleased with the progress on his wound and, after analyzing a blood sample, announced that Tony could come off of the IV antibiotic. Shuri had been able to synthesized a pill form and he was proscribed a dose three times a day. Tony enthusiastically agreed.

“This doesn't mean you are recovered, Tony,” Helen chastised. “It just means that you are on the mend.”

“I know, I know, but I'm off the leash!” the billionaire said. Bruce raised an eyebrow at them both. 

“Shuri has asked for another blood sample and I'd like to take it to her in person.” the gentle scientist said. “This is an entirely new and ground breaking treatment we've produced. Very illegal, truthfully, because we've tested it on a human guinea pig, which is highly unethical but we were between a rock and hard place. However...” he paused, sighed and continued, “if there are future invasions, the chances of aliens transporting more foreign bacteria to Earth is too high to ignore. 

“Shuri's brilliant. More brilliant than either myself or Tony, truthfully, but she's a tech phenom, much like Tony was in his youth. While she's good in biochemistry, I'm better. She'd like my input on doing more testing on this new antibiotic with an eye toward submitting it for clinical trials. One test subject isn't enough to get it approved for the general population. It's basically just an already established drug with trace amounts of Vibranium introduced to augment it's levels of efficacy...” Bruce's voice ramped up with enthusiasm as he warmed to his topic but paused when he noticed the amused smiles on both of his companion's faces, then shook his head ruefully. 

“Sorry, I get carried away when I have a new project. Anyway, Tony, I'll need a few vials of your blood. I'll call Wong later today and have him portal me to Wakanda. Shuri and I will keep in touch through FRIDAY,” he held up his Starkphone, “and I can get back here quickly if you need me. I shouldn't be gone for longer than month. If you have a breakthrough before then, I'll come back sooner.”

Tony nodded. “Take your time. What you are doing may be just as important as what I'm doing. Wouldn't do to go through all of this trouble only to have half the world wiped out again by a pandemic.”


	9. Chapter 9

A week later, Nat drove the Bugatti Veyron she had borrowed from Tony through the compound gates, watching as FRIDAY closed them behind her. Instead of parking in the large, underground garage, she pulled up to the front door and cut the engine. It was late, nearing midnight, and she would be leaving again first thing in the morning. It wouldn’t hurt to leave it out for the night. She sighed wearily, rotating her neck until it cracked. In some ways, her tenure as CEO of Stark Industries was one of the most fascinating and challenging roles she’d ever taken on, with its own kind of thrill and danger. She could get used to being a powerful mover and shaker in the industrial world. But GOD, was it exhausting! She didn’t know how Pepper did it and her already high estimation of the woman rose even further. Groaning slightly, she released the seat belt and rolled her shoulders. The hour drive from downtown New York City to the compound outside of Stony Point, New York was short, as far as a lot of commutes around New York City were concerned, but still stressful and congested. At least the freeways were clear again. 

Stepping out, she took a deep breath of the cool night air, savoring the hints of woods, grass and that special damp earthiness that only seemed to rise up after dark. Shaking her head at her moment of whimsy, she started toward the front door, knowing that FRIDAY would open it for her. A random sound, no louder than a whisper, but out of place from the natural environment, filtered out of the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs singing. Natasha’s senses went on high alert. She gave nothing away, and moved toward the door at a casual stroll. As expected FRIDAY opened the large, heavy doors for her. The second she was through, however, she spun and spoke to her surroundings in a low, urgent tone.

“FRIDAY, surveillance sweep, now! Get me Cap and Clint and have them meet me in ops.”

Kicking off her high stilettos, Natasha sprinted toward the operations center of the compound. Steve joined her just outside the door and Clint a moment later, holding a go bag with her Black Widow gear. She began to shed her clothing immediately without any shred of embarrassment.

“I'm not sure, but something's not right outside. Where is everyone?” 

Steve had moved to the surveillance consoles, scanning them quickly. “Tony's asleep. I notified Nebula. She's on high alert. Rhodey's in D.C. trying to liaise with the military about distributing Clean Energy ARC's.”

Clint took over his narration. “I sent Lila with Rocket and told him to get Ned and Mrs. Rhodes to the underground panic room. He'll be here once they are safe. You think we should try to get Tony there, too?”

Steve grimaced. “He'd never go. Let's see what we're up against before we wake him. He spent too long in the lab today. He needs his rest.”

“I've got movement on the Southern perimeter, Captain.” FRIDAY said urgently. “Movement just detected at the edge of the East perimeter as well.” 

“Damn it.” hissed Steve. “FRIDAY, tell Nebula to get Tony up.”

AAA

In the end, it was a rag tag group calling themselves 'The Sons of Thanos', about 25 strong, who thought they could take on the diminished contingent of Avengers to uphold the ideals of their new “savior”. They were wrong. As local authorities, both medical and law enforcement, hauled the self styled 'Soldiers of the New Order' away, the Black Widow shook her head in disgust.

“That was hardly worth the effort. A bunch of yahoo's in a Texas bar would have been more of a challenge.”

Clint laughed, startling himself. He hadn't done that in a while. Tony, still dressed in sweatpants and a tee shirt, barefoot in the late May night, gave him a wry smile. Nebula just sneered.

“I didn't even get to kill anyone.” 

Rocket agreed. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose.

“OK, everyone, let's head inside. I think we need to sort through some strategies in case of future attacks. FRIDAY, let Mrs. Rhodes and the kids out, please?”

They turned to enter the compound when a sizzling lightning bolt lit up the night.

“We're about to have company.” Tony murmured, seconds before Thor slammed down, dressed in jeans and a Norway soccer T-shirt, holding Stormbreaker in his large fist.

AAA

Roberta handed out coffee and tea to the people assembled around the dining room table. It was almost three in the morning, but no one was going to get any more sleep that night, apart from Lila, whom Clint had tucked in on the couch a short distance away. Even Ned sat at the table, wide eyed and gulping coffee with lots of French Vanilla creamer, eyeing the Thunder God with something akin to adulation. Thor thanked “Lady Rhodes”, taking a large mug of black coffee and continued his story.

“So I brought my people here to Midgard and took them to the place where I last saw my Father, in Norway. We are greatly diminished.” he mourned, pausing for a moment to gather himself. “Between my sister's murderous rampage and the devastation wrought by Thanos, there are but 2000 or so of my people left. Such a small number when once we were a mighty people. So much has been lost...” he trailed off quietly. Tony reached out and placed a comforting hand on the god's shoulder. Thor looked up with a small smile. 

“Of course, the people of Norway were greatly alarmed, at first, to see a ship filled with Asgardians land amongst them. They recognized me, however, as I have ever been a favorite son since the Battle of New York. I appealed to the government for asylum. Half of the people of Norway are also gone, of course. They were quick to accept our offer of help in exchange for sanctuary. They have afforded us housing in the county of Buskerud. We have chosen to reside in the city of Numedal. [10] It is somewhat isolated and still has an ancient culture, much to the liking of my people. I think we will fit in there very well. I have left my second in command, the mighty Valkyrie, in charge while I tend to my other duties here.”

Rocket cocked his head, listening, and the gathered Avengers tensed. A moment later, however, the familiar roar of the War Machine armor reverberated through the compound and soon Colonel Rhodes strode into the room.

“God Damn it, Tony, I can't leave you alone for one day and someone is trying to take you out.” he grumbled, but his face was soft and relieved as he caught sight of his oldest friend and his mother. 

“Ahh, Sugarbear, it was hardly worse than a bar fight. They were all idiots.”

“They were idiots this time.” Rhodey amended darkly.

Thor sat back in his chair a bit, crossing his massive arms.

“I think someone should fill me in on what I have missed since last we met.” 

AAA

Mid-morning found Tony still sifting through the readouts he had gathered from the Infinity Stones. He was seeing unusual indications in Gamma rays on all of the readings, but he hadn't been able to pin it down yet. He'd sent off his findings to Bruce for his opinion, as well. Tony sat back wearily and rubbed his eyes. It had been a very short night. Glancing over, he found Nebula in her usual spot by the door. She had pulled a chair over several days ago and had taken up position like a bouncer at a nightclub. At the moment, she was flexing her wrist in irritation, glaring at it petulantly.

“Hey Blue, c'mere.” Tony called softly. The cyborg glanced up, frowning.

“Why?” 

“Just get over here, would you? I want to look at that wrist.”

“Why?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Because I want to see it, OK? It looks like it's hurting you.”

Nebula rose and strode toward the genius but maintained her frown. “It doesn't matter. Pain is irrelevant.”

Tony grasped her wrist gently, guiding her to sit on the stool next to him. Slowly manipulating the wrist back and forth, he let his fingertips tell him as much as his eyes. 

“Pain is not irrelevant, my dear. There's no need to suffer if you have the option of not being in pain.”

Nebula cocked her head to one side, contemplating the bewildering man before her, then shrugged. She did not understand this thing called 'compassion'. It was a weakness. Tony scowled at her.

“OK, how about this,” he said as he gathered up the tiny tools he would need to make adjustments to the mechanism in her wrist, “pain can hinder your performance. It might distract you when you need all of your concentration.”

The cyborg mulled that over for a bit as Tony opened up a small panel in her wrist and set to work adjusting one of the tension screws inside.

“Yes,” she finally allowed, “that is acceptable.” Tony smirked in triumph. 

“Good, I'd like to look at your eye socket at some point, too.” As he finished up and closed the panel, Thor stepped into the lab. 

“Man of Iron, I did not have the chance to tell you last night how good it is to see you up and about again. How do you fare?”

“I'm on the mend.” Tony replied offhandedly. Thor turned to Nebula.

“Lady Nebula, would you allow me a moment of Tony's time? I promise that no harm shall come to him in my care.”

The alien considered him in silence for several seconds before nodding and stalking off. Thor took her place on the stool and slumped.

“You did well against the Mad Titan, my friend. It is no dishonor that you did not prevail against him. I am a god, and I failed as well.” he whispered sadly.

Tony contemplated the large man in front of him. “I know you mean well by that, Thor, but it doesn't help much. I still feel fucking gutted. Strange gave up an Infinity Stone to save my life and I can't help but feel that he very well may have traded my life for half the universe. How am I supposed to live with that? To know that my life has been traded for Pepper and Peter, two people that I would gladly lay my own life down for, and billions upon billions more? If I can't find a way to fix this ...” he trailed off, and the look of despair in his eyes did not bode well for the billionaire's continued existence.

Thor nodded, looking down at his hands. “It is a heavy burden to bear, being responsible for so many.” he acknowledged. Tony's eyes softened. 

“I'm sorry about your brother. I know that we have a different point of view about him, but he was your brother and you loved him.”

Without looking up, Thor again nodded. “Aye, I did. I think that you would have liked him, had you gotten to know him better. He has come a long way since last you saw him. You remind me of him, in certain ways. I know that you made an impression on him. He told me that you had his respect.” 

Tony stiffened and he knew that Thor had no way of knowing how much impact those words had on him, but it still sent a frisson of panic climbing up his spine. The God of Thunder was oblivious, however, as he continued to contemplate his clenched fingers.

“He told me about the encounter in the your great tower. Even though some of those memories were hazy to him after the Titan's hold on his mind was broken, he still has a very clear memory of your talk. He admired your brashness and your courage, a mortal and without your wondrous suit of armor, even as he tried to take your mind with the scepter. He had always wondered why the Mind Stone had no affect on you. By all rights, it should have. It was a puzzle he could not solve.”

“Oh,” Tony shrugged casually, “yea, that was the Arc Reactor and it's probably because it was based off of my Father's studies of the Tesseract...” he trailed off, eyes widening. “Oh my God.”

“Tony?”

“Thor, you are a genius! I gotta talk to Shuri!”

The King of Asgard watched in confusion as his friend went from quiet misery to sudden animation. “That is... good?” he said as Tony began swiping through holograms at an insane rate and decided to leave the brilliant man to his brainstorming. He ambled out of the lab, feeling the first stirrings of hope in a long time.

AAA

Shuri and Bruce, both 'standing' in Tony's lab holographically, nodded along thoughtfully as Tony explained his most recent discovery.

“If I'm correct, the stones are emitting an incredibly high frequency, even greater than Gamma Rays, maybe by 100 times greater or more. We haven't got meters capable of reading anything this fine, but I think I can build one. If my theory proves out, then the frequency I'm hypothesizing would have a speed great enough for galactic communication.”

“But Gamma-rays are deadly, Tony, you know this.” Bruce pointed out. “Gamma-rays have frequencies greater than 1018 cycles per second. Exposure for more than a few seconds of Gamma radiation will kill you.”

“Not necessarily.” Shuri piped up. “If what Tony is suggesting is correct, the rays would be so incredibly fast that they would be able to carry massive amounts of information in less than 1 million milliseconds, which would be too fast to affect anything. Also, if it is as powerful as I think it could be, then the need for satellites and cell towers would become redundant because they would be able to pass through almost any matter short of a black hole. You would be able to contact any country, straight through the earth, without bouncing a signal all around the world. Or out into space, even. It could revolutionize communications as we know it.”

“Exactly!” Tony enthused. 

“OK,” Bruce said, “So now we know what frequency the Stones emit, but how does that help us? We don't have anything that can emit that same frequency.”

“Oh, but we do.” Tony grinned. “I knew those readouts looked familiar. They are the same readouts, although not nearly as powerful, I got when I created Starkanium.” The memory of an old 9.5 mm film and his Father's voice saying 'I'm limited by the technology of my time, but one day you'll figure this out and, when you do, you will change the world.' echoed through his head.

“The element you use to power your ARC reactors?” Shuri asked.

“Only when it was still in my body, yes. It's somewhat difficult and expensive to produce, so I use regular Palladium cores in all of my current ARC reactors, but when I still had the ARC imbedded in my body, it was run off of Starkanium. The powers that be are still doing testing on Starkanium, even after all these years, before Starkanium is approved and regulated for general use. I kind of put it on the back burner after I had the ARC removed from my chest. You know how governments work. Between the DOE and OSHA, it'll be another two or three years before we see regulated Starkanium available. The good news is that, while it may be hard to produce and expensive, once a core is produced, it will last for a hundred years, so the expense to produce one would be a one time deal for whomever purchases one. A singe core could provide energy to thousands of homes for a century, which is another reason that it is taking so long. Lobbyist from other energy sources are definitely trying to stop me.”

“All right,” Shuri said, getting the conversation back on track, “but even with the Starkanium to emit the correct frequency, it's not going to be enough to traverse the kind of distance we are talking about. Galaxy wide, perhaps, but inter-galactic?”

Tony's eyebrows scrunched down. “Yea, I'm still working on that. I need something to boost the power.”

Shuri's smile became cunning. “Then let's talk Vibranium...”

AAA

Natasha slipped into the dark compound. It was very late and her feet hurt. She didn't know how Pepper could walk in such high stilettos every day. It was yet another mystery about the powerful CEO that amazed the Black Widow. With shoes dangling from her fingers, she padded noiselessly through the unlit common room. A soft exhale made her pause to survey her surroundings. 

The back of a tousled head rose from one of the easy chairs that faced the floor to ceiling glass overlooking the compound grounds. Pale moonlight flooded in to illuminate a sliver of a face. In this light, everything stood out in austere contrast, like a black and white noir movie from the 40's.

Shifting stealthily to the side, she moved until the face of the man in the chair became visible. She already knew who it was, of course, but the need to confirm was built into her bones. 

Tony sat in the moonlight, an untouched glass of Bourbon on the table before him as silvery tears slid silently down his cheeks. The look of loss and grief on his face was almost palpable. Natasha was almost sure that Tony was aware of her presence, but neither of them broke the fey spell cast by the eery light of the moon. Natasha was all too aware of how the demons that rode a persons soul were strongest in the wee hours of the morning, when hope and confidence was at its lowest.

She exited quietly, leaving the burdened man to his reflections in the dark.

AAA

Thor and Tony strolled along the hall way on the north side of compound. It was a beautiful June afternoon with the kind of blue sky and puffy white clouds that brought back memories of idyllic childhood days. The reinforced, bullet proof windows looked out over the vast lawn that led down to a spring-fed lake further back on the property. 

“I shall be leaving for a week or two to see to my people but I will stay in contact. FRIDAY is very good about that.” Thor stated. Tony nodded, pleased with the compliment to his 'baby girl'. This new version of Thor, soft spoken, thoughtful and melancholy, was so far removed from the braggart that he had met all those years ago that it was as if they had watched the man grow up before their eyes, which was ironic considering that he was well over 1000 years old and they were but may-flies in the entirety of his long life. 

“I will be taking Rocket with me.” Thor continued, looking out over the grounds. “There are matters in which I could use his expertise with on incorporating Asgardian and Midgardian technology and, while my first choice would have been Queen Shuri or yourself because of your familiarity with Midgard's science, your individual responsibilities are too great to take you away from them. He will suffice quite well. He is brilliant in his own right and has experience with technologies all across the galaxies. I just worry about leaving when the situation is so unstable with the threats against your life.”

“Ah, Point Break, don't worry your head about me. I'm Ironman, remember?”

“Aye, but you are still healing.”

“I'm better every day.” Tony reassured the Thunder God. “I'm back to working out in the gym and I'll be fighting fit before you know it.” 

“Is that why you look so tired?”

Tony glanced away guiltily. “Meh, sleep is over rated.”

They paused, looking out over the grounds. 

“Oooookay...” Tony tilted his head. “Not sure what I'm looking at, here...”

On the sun-drenched lawn before them, Rocket was busily constructing an elaborate jungle gym, complete with swings, slides, playhouse, crawling tubes and a variety of other functions from parts that had obviously been scrounged from in, and around, the compound. It was oddly otherworldly. Lila Barton was enthusiastically handing him parts and chattering away with an occasional glance or shouted word upward. 

“Ah,” Thor smiled, “the Rabbit has been unable to escape the spell of Mistress Barton, it seems. He has set about building her a playground. Our good Hawkeye is on the roof with his bow, guarding his daughter. Rocket should be finished by this evening and we will take our leave on the morrow.”

Tony's eyebrows had both climbed toward their peak as they watched in silence for a few long moments. Eventually his face softened and he gave a lopsided grin. 

“FRIDAY, please order the best kiddie pool you can find and have it delivered ASAP. Better throw in appropriate swim wear for an eight year old, too.” They continued on their way toward the labs. Steve came around a corner on his way from the kitchen, munching on an apple and smelling vaguely of burnt plastic and plaster dust. Tony surmised he had been working on clean up efforts again. He fell into step with the other two.

“I understand that you have made some progress toward locating the Stones?” the super soldier asked. 

“Some, yes. I've discovered what frequency they operate on and Shuri thinks we can boost that signal but how to use that information is something we are still working on. If what I'm thinking of works, I've got a whole new set of issues. With the Vibranium multiplying the power, it's a LOT to contain and I'm still working out how to do that without frying myself right out of existence. How do we amplify that kind of energy while containing it at the same time? Vibranium is the enhancer but I've yet to find something that can focus and harness it.”

“Like Stormbreaker harnesses the essence of my God-hood?” Thor queried thoughtfully. They all stopped, looking at each other. 

“Exactly how Stormbreaker harnesses the eldritch energy inside you.” Tony breathed, eyes wide. “Tell me more about how your axe was made.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [10] [Numedal, Norway](https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/eastern-norway/numedal/)
> 
> P.S. More comic book science! But it sounds so plausible, amirite? Hey, there are actual bits and pieces of true science there...


	10. Chapter 10

Two days later found Tony on his way to New York. The board of SI, both remaining and recently appointed, had politely but firmly informed him that they had been more than patient with him as he healed. They had made it very obvious that they were not happy that the Black Widow was currently their acting CEO but Natasha had done her due diligence in investigating the remaining members when Tony had asked and both of them agreed that they were not 100% comfortable with the candidates available to run the company in the way that Tony wanted. Now, however, he had been summoned to soothe ruffled feathers and provide some insights on how the company intended to proceed, both under his and Natasha's direction. Tony had to admit that it was a fair question. While the world was slowly getting its feet back under itself, it looked to company's like SI to shore up the economy, provide jobs, funding and philanthropic help. So, while it galled Tony to be away from his research for even a few hours, he had to be mindful that he needed to provide just as much to the present recovery efforts as work toward a future solution. With that in mind, he found himself seated in the back of a bullet proof car with Nebula, who looked adorable as far as the billionaire was concerned, in an Eli Tahri cream colored three piece women's pantsuit with a navy blue silk blouse. She just deepened her scowl when Tony complemented her. 

“These are not practical in the least. I was only able to hide five knives.” 

Natasha raised an eyebrow in appreciation. She'd only managed three, but then again, she was in a skirt. Perhaps she could count the stiletto's as two more? The assassin contented herself with the fact that she also had a gun, as well, stashed about her person and called it even. She and Happy occupied the front seat. Happy had taken up his position as driver again, even if only for the short duration of this trip. He'd recently come back from touring several of SI's overseas locations and had been grumbling non-stop about his enforced co-CEO status, much preferring the simpler life of security.

Rhodey had insisted on flying air support in the War Machine armor and Steve had backed him up by escorting them on his motorcycle in full combat gear. They were taking no chances, even though only the board knew they were coming. Tony thought they were being over cautious but no one called him a hypocrite when they noticed the nanobot ARC peaking out from his Tom Ford suit. Clint had willingly agreed to stay at the compound to watch over his daughter, Mrs. Rhodes and Ned.

The compound, just north of town and skirting Bear Mountain State Park, was only a short distance from Palisades Interstate Parkway and it would be smooth sailing on the newly cleared highway from there until they hit the congestion on George Washington Bridge into the city. The day was beautiful and, being only two in the afternoon, the traffic was light. Even so, they kept a weather eye out for trouble and still they almost missed it as the Parkway ran through the widest section of the Palisades Interstate Park. 

Rhodey, flying above them, only had time to cry out “AMBUSH!” before it all went to shit. One second the tractor trailer rig slightly ahead of them was in the next lane and the next it has swerved sideways in front of them. It was too late to stop. Nebula slammed Tony to the floorboard of the car and threw herself on top of him. The car may have been bulletproof, but it couldn't withstand the impact of car vs. semi at 70 miles per hour. The shrieking, rending screech of metal as the top of the car sheared off under the heavy trailer was deafening as the vehicle came to an abrupt halt, wedged tight under the 18-wheeler.

Above them, Rhodey barely had time to register what had happened to the car carrying his best friend when the proximity alert on his HUD began to wail. The Heads Up Display registered an incoming S.A.M. which only gave the Colonel less than a second to avoid. The head of the missile slid bare millimeters past his torso but the stabilizing fin caught him slightly. The missile, jolted out of its flight path, hit the ground several yards behind the smashed car. The blast and the resulting concussive force flipped Rhodey ass over teakettle before he righted himself and got a good look around again. 

Steve had been right behind Tony's car and had to take to the ditch with the motorcycle in order to avoid colliding with the back of it. As he hit the grassy verge of the ditch beside the highway, he spied heavily armed figures emerging from the trees on the other side. Instead of laying the bike down and going back to the accident, he gunned the motor, instead, and slammed the Harley straight into the oncoming men. 

“There's at least 6 dozen men in the surrounding woods, Cap! They've got missiles, too. Keep them off that car. There might be someone alive under there!” Rhodey's voice came through the coms, urgent but determined. Snapping open the Wakandan arm guard, Steve set to his grim task.

Rhodey had just deployed an anti-aircraft round to stave off another missile when, without warning, the 80,000 pound trailer rose abruptly into the air and the magnificent site of Ironman rising from beneath it. Tony heaved the fully loaded trailer several yards away from the scalped vehicle. The hydraulics hissed and the 5th-wheel coupling screeched as the semi tore away from the cab.

“Tony!” Rhodey cried out in relief as he sent a line of strafing fire into another group of oncoming men. “What's your status?”

“Happy's unconscious, but Nat got him down before he was decapitated. She's got some cuts from the glass, but she'll hold off anyone trying to get to Happy. Nebula's coming to your side of the highway. Don't hit her. She's really pissed. Just let her have her fun. I'm going to Cap's side of the highway. Let's take these fuckers down.” His voice was grim and angry. Rhodey always got a shiver down his spine when Tony's voice became that cold. He knew they'd been betrayed by someone on the inside. Again.

Tony landed next to Steve in his signature 3 point pose and the super soldier looked over at him. 

“Mr. Stark.”

“Captain.”

Then they were back to back, moving as effortlessly as they had done a hundred time before, back when the team had been the greatest enhanced fighting force the world had ever known. Their moves were synchronized and efficient, a choreography of deadly grace and skill amidst a rain of bullets and bodies. A grenade blast near Cap threw him off balance but Ironman's arm wrapped around his waist and swung him around to set him back on the ground, the repulsor in the other hand a steady, lethal sweep as he spun. Steve sprang away and slashed the edge of the Vibranium gauntlet down on the arm of a man pointing an RPG at Ironman. The arm holding the rocket propelled grenade fell away, severed at the elbow. The deadly dance continued, on both sides of the highway, until sudden silence descended. The Avengers had incapacitated where they could, but killed if they had to. There was no other choice. Nebula wasn't so generous. The dead were piled up on her side of the highway and she looked smugly satisfied.

Rhodey and Tony made their way to the destroyed car. The top of the car had been sheared off as cleanly as a hot knife through butter, leaving the vehicle looking like a demented convertible. The Black Widow stood next to it and several bodies, including the driver of the tractor trailer, lay nearby. Her sleek, bespoke skirt and jacket were ripped and spattered with blood, both hers and the enemies, but her look was fierce and proud. 

The Coms in all of their ears crackled to life. 

“Why do you guys have all the fun? FRIDAY's got law enforcement and EMT's on the way and I'm two minutes out with the quin-jet. Thor and Rocket are on their way back, too.” Clint groused.

AAA

Three hours later, after they had finished with all of the questions and clean up, they gathered in the large conference room at the compound. Happy was the only one missing as he was currently resting in the Med Bay with a concussion and broken arm. Natasha's cuts had been attended to and they had all had the opportunity to clean up and change. A large gash over Steve's eye was already beginning to heal. Roberta entered with a large tray of coffee and tea, then took a seat herself as Ned followed with a tray of cookies. Lila sat on her father's lap, legs dangling and playing Angry Birds on her fathers phone.

“OK, Baby Girl, give it to us.” Tony sighed wearily, scrubbing his face with his hands.

“The FBI have finished interrogating a few of the men from today's attack and the information was quite interesting. The group that attacked you today call themselves the Alliance for True Balance. They have been very vocal lately and have a fairly large following around the world. I'm afraid these are just the tip of the iceberg and the most fanatical. They were willing to die to destroy any chance of reversing The Snap. They are certainly the largest of the pro-Thanos groups, but by no means are they the only zealots out there who have taken to quasi-worshipping what Thanos did. I tracked all of the current board members financials and one of your newest member's, a Diana Adderly, has been making some rather interesting contributions lately. I believe she was the source of the leak. I've already notified the FBI and they should be arresting her shortly on domestic terrorism and attempted murder charges.”

At Natasha's stricken look, the AI continued. “This was nothing that you could have caught, Ms. Romanoff. She kept her affiliations very off the books and only began her contributions after your investigations into the board members. I believe she was utilizing the public library for her internet connections to the group instead of her private or company computer.”

“Damn it,” Tony muttered, “we don't have time for this. Ned, how's that little project coming?” He looked at the young man expectantly. Just because he had to waste precious time going into the city, didn't mean that work in the lab had to stop. Ned perked up.

“I ran the analysis three times, then added in a couple of SAV Variable tests and you were right. They all match.” 

Tony's shark grin actually made the hair on the back of Rocket's neck raise. “Excellent. We are getting close. We don't have time to worry about idiots trying to assassinate us. Time for Bruce to come home. That'll make anyone think twice about storming the compound if they know he's in residence.”

Rocket looked confused. “Why would anyone be afraid of that soft, little humie?” he complained. Nebula nodded in agreement, brows furrowed in bewilderment. Rhodey snorted. Thor and Tony just smirked knowingly. 

“You'll find out. You want me to fetch him in the quin-jet or you want him by Wong-Express?” Rhodey asked.

“Call Wong, and tell him I want to see him here in two days time for an Avengers meeting. FRIDAY, please inform Queen Shuri that I'd like her to set aside a couple of hours for that day, too. I think it's time we had our first planning session.”

AAA

Bruce arrived just in time for dinner. Wong turned down the invitation to dine with the Avengers, citing the overwhelming workload that he now had to carry after so many sorcerer's, including the Sorcerer Supreme, had disappeared, but promised to be back for the meeting. Bruce couldn't help noticing the curious looks he received from Rocket and Nebula. 

Rhodey rolled through the door in his wheelchair. He didn't use it much anymore but there were days, usually after he had spent prolonged periods of time in his braces, where his back ached so fiercely he would give himself a rest by utilizing the chair. Steve and Clint ambled in behind him, fresh from showering after a day spent cleaning up the wreckage of an airliner that had crashed after The Snap in a suburban neighborhood 30 miles away. The bodies had been removed several days earlier, but there was wreckage to clear. It was grim work.

As dinner was wrapping up, Mama Rhodes announced, in no uncertain terms, that everyone would be taking the evening off and enjoying a movie together. 

“We all need an evening to just take our minds off our troubles for a few hours. Miss Lila has decided that we are going to watch 'The Emperor's New Groove'. Now come along.”

Rhodey and Tony knew better than to ignore the determined woman. They drifted after her and the rest followed. Once in the media room, they began to settle in. Bruce paused before choosing a seat, a look of consternation crossing his face. 

“You OK there, Bruce?” Tony asked.

The other scientist began shaking his head in frustration, mumbling to himself. “Really!? _Now_ you want to?” as green crept up his neck.

Rocket and Nebula jumped to their feet in alarm as the meek, mousy little scientist began to grow. And grow. And grow. Their eyes were huge and round, with just a hint of fear and awe as the green behemoth stood before them, grinning. Tony smirked devilishly as Steve blushed tomato red. Clint had casually covered Lila's eyes as he realized what was happening. He had no fears that Hulk would hurt him and certainly not his small daughter, but he didn't think his eight year old daughter was ready to see Big Green's junk.

“Aye, and there it is again. That's... that's just great. I was just beginning to scrub that image from my brain.” Thor muttered.

Ned, flushing a deep scarlet, tossed a large afghan to Hulk and he wrapped it around his waist like a sarong. 

“Hulk want to watch cartoon.”

“Green Bean!” Tony exclaimed happily, jumping up to give his friend a hug. Hulk smiled down at him, patting him gently on the head.

“Hulk happy to see Tin Man again. Captain here too.” Steve smiled amiably and came forward to pat Hulk on the arm. Hulk looked around and caught sight of Nebula and Rocket, standing tense and on guard. “Puny Banner say Blue Lady is protecting Tin Man. Hulk like Blue Lady. Little raccoon is funny. He will like cartoon.” Rocket mumbled something too low to catch, but kept a wary eye on the massive creature before him. He knew without asking that Hulk could crush him with one hand with as much effort as it took to squeeze a grape.

Hulk dismissed Rhodey and the awestruck Ned as known or harmless, then smiled devilishly at Thor before sinking onto the couch. “Hulk still strongest Avenger” he teased.

Thor huffed. “In your dreams, Big Man.” 

“Well then,” Roberta Rhodes said, one eyebrow raised in amusement and completely unruffled by the giant green creature standing in front of her, “I guess we'll need more popcorn.”

Rocket scuttled after her to find more green olives.

 

AAA

Ned trudged down the corridor toward the lab. He had spent the morning helping Mrs. Rhodes buy groceries. While the compound was very well stocked with dry goods and there were industrial sized freezers packed with frozen goods, fresh produce and dairy were increasingly hard to find. Transportation lines around the world were severely compromised, either due to inaccessible roads or a shortage of personnel and various transport vehicles. A lot of trains, planes and trucks had crashed. Fresh food was rotting in the fields. Organizations around the world, like FEMA and other disaster relief organizations, where doing their best, and governments were trying to work out new logistics, but the task was overwhelming. The Maria Stark Foundation and the September Foundation were doing all they could, but their resources were not limitless and they certainly couldn't fix the whole world.

This morning Clint had driven himself, Lila, Ned and Mrs. Rhodes to different grocery stores around Stony Point looking for milk, eggs and other perishables. Mrs. Rhodes had refused to go to Tony to ask him to pull strings to have these items flown in. She knew he hadn't even considered the food situation in the compound as that was the furthest thing from his mind, and she refused to take advantage of his wealth when almost everyone else in the world didn't have that luxury. They were much better off than most, having a guaranteed energy source with the ARC reactor technology powering the compound and large stores of food already here. No, they would scrounge, just like everyone else.

They were fortunate to live in an area that had several artisanal farms, however, and people who would normally only set up for farmers markets on the weekends, were now bringing their foods in to town every day and setting up shop in the parking lots of grocery stores, which were completely out of fresh foods and getting dangerously low on dry goods. This early in June, they were able to buy eggs, cheese, new summer potatoes, strawberries, lettuce, mushrooms and milk. Soon these, too, would be harder to come by as fuel became harder to obtain and the farmers struggled to get their wares into town. People were already charging outrageous prices for everything. With FRIDAY's help, Mrs. Rhodes was keeping an eye on the lower income families in the area. If necessary, she would ask Mr. Stark to step in with funds to help them. If the situation became too dire and provisions became impossible to come by, she planned to break open the compound stores and distribute them, although they wouldn't go far.

Now the young man was headed toward the workshop/lab. He would spend this afternoon with Mr. Stark running more energy and stress test analysis and doing a double blind test with the new energy meter Mr. Stark had built to test the new frequency, which Tony was calling Summa Waves, which apparently meant 'highest' in Latin.

He slowed as he came upon the double wide glass door of the compounds gym. A very large room with almost every piece of workout equipment to be found, it was normally quiet at this time of day, but he could hear the thud-thud-thud of fists on canvas and heavy, panting gasps. Cautiously peeking his head in, he caught sight of Steve Rogers pounding away at one of the reinforced punching bags that Mr. Stark had specially made for the Avengers. Ned had thought that Captain Rogers was out working with recovery efforts today, but here he was.

He watched as the man hammered away relentlessly with fists flying almost too fast to see. It looked like he had been at it for awhile for sweat streamed down his body and off of the ends of his hair and beard. His chest heaved. There was something savage and frightening about it, yet frantic and desperate at the same time. The grunts that were being forced out of straining lungs sounded very close to sobs.

Ned stepped in to the room and sidled cautiously up to Steve. Here was Captain America, looking like he was on the verge of falling apart. Steve caught sight of the teenager and halted abruptly, pulled out of his headspace and gulping for air like a landed fish. He bent over with his hands on his knees and gave himself a moment to orient himself again.

“What's wrong? Does someone need me?” he panted. 

“Umm... no... I... I just...” Ned stammered, eyes wide. “You looked, I don't know, kind of.. “ he trailed off, suddenly rethinking his impulsive action.

Steve covered his eyes for a moment and sighed. “Ned...” he began.

“No, Mr. Captain, sir...” Ned sputtered, but then squared his shoulders. “It's just that... everyone's been acting like they're all right and they all act all strong and brave but I've seen Mr. Barton crying and I've seen Rocket passed out drunk after he was yelling at nothing and I've seen Mr. Stark just staring off into space with this horrible look on his face and you don't have to pretend you're OK, Captain,” he trailed off.

Steve contemplated his scuffed and bleeding hands for a long moment, noticing that they had already begun to heal. He exhaled a long, slow breath. 

“You're right.” he muttered. “You're right. You're a bright kid, Ned. If everything I've heard about Peter is right, I can see why you two are friends. But listen, I know you see me as Captain America and everyone expects me to be the strong one, but I'm just a man and you're right, I'm only pretending that I'm fine. I've made so many mistakes. I had enough trouble understanding the world before all of this happened. Not the tech. I'm pretty smart myself, you know.” he smiled bitterly as he tapped a finger on his temple. “The serum helped with that, too. I picked all that up pretty quick. But I spent the first twenty-six years of my life in a different era and only the last five in a world that I still have a hard time wrapping my head around, much less dealing with aliens and robots and... and the end of the world...'' his voice wobbled. “I was just beginning to feel like I'd found my place. I'd found Bucky again and he was healed. I had a great team and a purpose and, once again, it's all been ripped away.”

Ned studied the floor self consciously for a moment. “I miss my Mom.” he whispered. “I miss Peter and M.J. I think the only thing that isn't making me curl up in a ball and cry all the time is what I have here. Not in a million, billion years could I ever have imagined that I'd be at the Avengers compound, working with Mr. Stark and hanging out with Captain America and Thor and War Machine and Black Widow and Hawkeye and the Hulk and frikkin' ALIENS and you're all treating me like I'm a part of the team. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I'm not just dreaming all of this, but then I remember _why_ I'm hear and I can hardly bear it.

“Then I see how hard everyone is working and I see the progress that Mr. Stark is making on fixing all of this and it gives me hope. And it makes me want to be strong. It makes me want to do better so I deserve to be a part of a group of people who are making history, you know?”

Steve stared at the idealistic young man in front of him and wondered where his own idealism had slipped off to. He smiled warmly. The first really true smile he'd felt since he clasped Bucky's hand on the steps of the Wakandan palace.

“It's young people like you and Peter who are going to make history, Ned. You already are strong and you're better than we are. You've also reminded me of something that I think I've lost somewhere along the way. And never doubt that you are a part of the Avengers. I think you've proven yourself pretty well over the last few weeks. I heard Tony mention that you are Peter's 'Guy in the Chair', right?” he waited for the confirming nod. “Well, I think you'll make an amazing 'Guy in the Chair' for the Avengers and I'd be proud to have you on my team any day.”

Ned's eyes were bright and shining when he joined Tony ten minutes later.


	11. Chapter 11

Two days later they assembled, again in the largest conference room. Shuri, Okoye, the Queen Mother and M'Baku were standing in holographic form on one side of the long table beside a seated Bruce and Nebula. Thor, Wong, Rocket, Ned, Natasha and Clint sat on the opposite side. Tony sat at the head of the table, Rhodey to his right and Steve to his left. A large screen stood at the foot of the table. It was a cloudy day in mid-June, six weeks since the universe had changed, and it was time to make plans to put it all back together again.

Tony looked around at the fourteen other people seated around the table and rose.

“Well, we've got our work cut out for us. When Nebula dragged my sorry ass back home, I didn't have a hope in Hell that we could do anything about this. She kept insisting that all the mumbo jumbo that had happened on Titan meant something, though, so you can thank her for kicking my ass in gear.” The alien gave a smug little smile.

“I think I've come up with something, however. You can thank Thor for that, by the way. FRIDAY, throw up the diagram please.”

An exploded view of a new ARC reactor appeared on the screen. Tony gestured to it.

“What you are looking at is our own version of an Infinity Stone.” He heard the gasps around the table. “I've kept you in the loop with the discovery of the frequency that the Stones operate on and some of you have been in on discussions about enhancing and containment techniques, so I'm going to put it all together for you now.”

Shuri gave Tony a knowing nod and smiled encouragingly. Tony nodded back and face the screen again.

“We've discovered that an ARC reactor, powered by a Starkanium core, emits a previously undiscovered frequency that I have names Summa Waves. Summa is Latin for high because we've never encountered frequencies this high before. It's also the same frequency as the Infinity Stones. The ARC technology was based on studies my Father made of the Tesseract but it wasn't until the introduction of Starkanium that we achieved complete compatibility with the Stones. Even so, the signal is too weak. We won't be able to reach enough amplitude to extend far enough with just the ARC alone. For this, we are going to construct an inner casing made of Vibranium, which will boost the energy given off by the reactor enough to not only cover our galaxy, but several galaxies within a few minutes time.”

Steve, Clint and Wong's eyes widened in awe. Rocket, Ned and Shuri grinned as the others looked on with interest. Tony gave that information a moment to set in. 

“That's all well and good, but it is my intention to embed the ARC in my suit in an effort to keep it out of the hands of Thanos and have some control over it. The problem is, that amount of power would fry me.” Steve and Rhodey opened their mouths to protest, but Tony held up a hand. “After talking with Thor, however, I think I can get around that. If I can construct an outer casing of Uru, the metal that Stormbreaker is made of, I can contain the power and focus it correctly.” 

“That would mean a trip to Nidavellir and the iris that controls the star fire that fuels the forge there is broken.” Thor interjected. 

“Can it be fixed?” Rhodey spoke up. Thor considered the question.

“Aye, I believe it could be. The Rabbit would certainly know how,” he glanced at Rocket, “and with the Captain and myself to provide the strength and the hands that Eitri now lacks, we could forge the casing under his guidance. I could take us there through the Bifrost using Stormbreaker. I might have trouble convincing him to help, however.” 

“What's wrong with Eitri's hands?” Ned asked.

“Eitri is the king of the Dwarves of Nidavellir, a brilliant race of master smiths. The Mad Titan killed them all. Eitri is their only remaining survivor. Thanos took his hands so that he would never again be able to forge a weapon. He is bitter and now would be doubly afraid of Thanos' displeasure after the Mad Titan has won.”

“Thor,” Tony mused, “if I could give Eitri back his hands, would that help to convince him?”

The Thunder God stared at his friend in confusion. Tony smiled and tapped his reactor twice. Nanobots flowed down his arm, past his hand and formed an oversized second. He made the fingers wave cheerfully before they receded back into the reactor. 

“You say he is brilliant? Smart enough to interface with a neuro-link?”

Thor's slow smile spread like honey across his face. “Oh yes, his intellect is formidable and he has the wisdom of thousands of years. I believe, for this, he would be quite eager to lend us his knowledge and skills, even with the threat of Thanos wrath.” The Thunder God's grin was blinding.

“That's great, but what's the ultimate purpose for building an ARC that can talk to the other stones?” Natasha asked suspiciously. Tony was silent for a moment before lifting his chin in resolution.

“The ARC will have the capability to call the other Stones to it. I intend to call them and use them to reverse The Snap.”

Bruce stood up. “Tony! That'll kill you!”

“No, I don't think it will. Thor, you said that Thanos had the gauntlet made on Nidavellir as well?” he waited for the Thunder God's nod. “If I wear another gauntlet over the nanobots, there's a good chance that I can wield it. The suit is stronger than anyone else here apart from Hulk and possibly Thor. It's also going to take a strong mind to control the Stones, capable of sorting a lot of information very fast and, not to let my ego get in the way or anything,” he glanced at Natasha and she grimaced slightly, “I've got the best mind here aside from Queen Shuri and, not only is she more needed than I am, but she's a minor so she's not taking part in the actual fighting.”

Shuri scowled. Thor stood as well. 

“Friend Stark, I admire your warrior spirit and your willingness to assume this burden, but I would be better able to withstand the power of the Stones. It should be I to undertake this risk.”

“If it was just a matter of taking on the Stones I would agree with you, Thor, but I'm betting that with the Stones, we'll be getting Thanos, too. He's not going to let go of them easily and it's my guess that he and his crazies are going to try to hold on to the Stones but will end up riding the Stones in like a slipstream. It's what I would do. We need you to take that God-Killer of yours,” he pointed at Thor's massive axe, Stormbreaker, “and kill that fucker.” 

Thor looked grim, but nodded as he and Bruce both took their seats again. Steve spoke up. “And after we reverse everything, what then? Can we destroy the Stones?”

Thor again interjected. “Nay, Captain. The Stones have been here since the dawn of time for a reason. No one truly knows what those reasons are or what the consequences would be if they were destroyed, but it could be catastrophic. That nothing happened when the Mind Stone was destroyed was fortunate and may have been because the time between its destruction and it's restoration was so short. They must be scattered to the corners of the universe once again and hope that they are never reassembled.” 

The gathered Avengers and friends frowned. Not a perfect scenario but it couldn't be helped. 

“Wait,” Rocket piped up. They all turned to him expectantly. “What about the neutron star? It should still be burning, but what if it went out again?”

“Ah,” Thor grinned, “We left your pod there, did we not?” Rocket groaned.

“Wong,” Tony turned to the sorcerer, “If we do this, and everyone reappears where they were ashed, can Strange do that portal thing from Titan to Earth? Can he get Peter and the Guardians home?”

Wong nodded thoughtfully. “Yes, I believe he can. He has a strong connection to both Kamar-Taj and the New York Sanctum. It's also possible that he may portal straight to where ever the Time Stone is. A bearer of a Stone picks up certain traces of them. The Time Stone would have seeped a bit of its essence into Stephen and, in theory, he would be able to find it again.” 

“What about all the people that got ashed while they were in an airplane or something? Would they just, like, fall and die again?” Ned asked. 

“I've been thinking about that.” Tony bit his lip and huffed. “I'm not sure yet, but I'll think of something.”

Rhodey stood up and caught the eye of everyone in the room. “OK, here are your assignments. Thor, Steve, Rocket, you'll go to Nidavellir and help Eitri forge the outer casing for the ARC reactor and a new gauntlet. Tony will provide you with the specs.

“Tony, Ned and Bruce; we need all of our gear in top working condition, especially you, Tony. You better make damn sure that your suit can handle those stones. I want all of the data gone through again and again after that. I don't want a single thing left to chance. Send the data to Wakanda, as well. If anyone's going to find a flaw, it will be our young genius here.” He turned to the Wakandan child queen.

“Queen Shuri, I'm assuming that Tony has already given you the specs on the inner casing?” 

“Yes,” she nodded, “and Wakanda has no intention of sitting out the fight if it comes.” M'Baku and Okoye both lifted their heads proudly as the Queen Mother gave a stately nod of approval. Shuri acknowledged her Mother's support with a small smile before turning her eyes again to the Avengers. “If Mr. Stark is correct and Thanos comes with his alien dogs, we must be prepared for anything. We learned much during our last encounter. I have been working on new weapons, as well.” She gave a sharp, fierce grin. “My brother would expect no less.”

Rhodey nodded his thanks and turned toward the archer.

“Clint, you and Nebula are tasked with protecting this compound. None of what we have talked about here today or anything I've asked of any of you must get out. We've already had leaks. If those pro-Thanos nut jobs think we are on to something, they'll be all over this place like bees on honey. Clint, keep you ears to the ground and work your sources from here, if possible. While your at it, put out some feelers for other enhanced groups that might want to throw in with us when it's time, but keep it subtle and don't give anything away.” Clint gave a thumbs up. Nebula gave one grave nod.

“Wong, please see if there are any magic users that can be spared for a possible battle, as well. Natasha, you need to keep SI running until we call you for the showdown but, while your are there, you also need to touch base with your underground contacts for anything unusual that may be coming down the pipeline. While your at it, try to put out a little mis-information that Tony is struggling to get anywhere. That might keep the wolves off our backs for a while. Word's already out that the Hulk is back in the compound, so that helps. And while all of this is going on, I'm going to Washington where I'll be quietly scouting battlefield options and sounding out various higher ups in the military that I know I can trust. See if we can find a fairly unpopulated area and what kind of troops I might get access to because, this time, we are going to pick a time and a place of our own choosing. Once this goes down, it's our job to keep Thanos and his minions off of Tony at all costs. Any questions?”

He looked around at the assembled people and registered the same expression on every face; grim determination.

AAA

Thor took himself, Steve and Rocket off the next morning in a show of rainbow light that left yet another celtic tattoo on the lawn. Rocket took with him a small reactor filled with nanobots and instructions on how to hook Eitri up. Clint had gently pried a sniffling Lila off of the poor raccoon's neck before he could go. Rocket actually looked guilty and a tad bit sad at leaving the little girl behind. Before they disappeared into the eldritch radiance, Steve had looked Tony in the eye and nodded a thanks as he once again held the iconic round, star emblazoned shield in his hands.

Rhodey was next, soaring toward Washington, D.C. in the sturdy War Machine armor followed swiftly by the Black Widow, roaring out of the drive in yet another of Tony's flashy cars. Wong had departed the night before in a swirling portal, off to Kamar-Taj to contemplate how he and his accolytes could contribute to the upcoming battle. Unless, or until, Stephen Strange was restored, he was acting Sorcerer Supreme and he took great pains to bitch about that fact.

The compound seemed strangely empty, suddenly, with just Tony, Clint, Lila, Nebula, Bruce, Mama Rhodes and Ned. Clint decided that he wanted to scout the perimeter of the compound (again) so Roberta took Lila's hand and set off to make cookies together. Nebula sporadically prowled the interior of the compound between monitoring FRIDAY's security cams from ops and the three self-proclaimed 'nerds' retired to the workshop to begin the upgrades on everyone's battle gear. 

Tony, especially, had been neglecting his armor during the long hours of Infinity Stone research. While he had kept the nanobot reactor on his chest since he'd left his sick bed, it was now time to construct a new armor. He had decided to combine old and new tech, with the classic ARC reactor in a static chest piece with nanotech armor for the rest. The center ARC nodule would hold the 'Heart Stone', as Shuri had dubbed it, while two smaller ARC's, located just below each collar bone on either side of the center ARC, would hold the nanobots. This would have the stability and protection of the reinforced chest piece but the fluidity and versatility of the nanobot suit. A (hopefully) perfect combination. 

Bruce had helped Tony in the workshop before but this was a big first for Ned, who was so awestruck and nervous that he could hardly speak. Tony started him off on an easy task by handing him specs for several of Clint's arrow designs and showing Ned how to program the fabrication unit. Tony tried not to think too hard on why he had never purged any of the specs for the Avengers gear. He watched long enough to see that Ned had caught on quickly and left him to the process of turning out a dozen different arrow designs en mass.

AAA

Rhodey called that evening. He'd been in top secret, high level meetings all day with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the new Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of NATO. They were all in agreement that there would be ground troops joining any upcoming confrontation. They were going to sort out exactly what troops and if any were going to be pulled from other nations. They'd also chosen a location for the event in what was nicknamed the “Great Wide Open”, a remote area in Harney County, Oregon.[11] It was ranching country, filled with ten thousand acre ranches and very few people. They had found two adjoining ranches that were in foreclosure and the government had snapped them up. If they couldn't contain the Chitauri in a little over twenty four thousand acres in Southeast Oregon, they would be in big trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [11] [Harney County, OR video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBT3BnuUqKU)
> 
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> 
> [Harney County, OR info](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harney_County,_Oregon)


	12. Chapter 12

Tony was deep into a new design for the Black Widow's 'Widow Bites' using tiny ARC reactors in the weapons to enhance the charge to levels that would be lethal to the Chitauri when FRIDAY announced an incoming call from Queen Shuri. Bruce and Ned both looked up from their projects when the hologram of the young woman formed.

“Greetings, Mr. Stark.” 

“Please, your majesty, it's just Tony.” 

“Then you must call me Shuri. We are all friends and teammates, now.” the Wakandan smiled winsomely. “I'm afraid that I call with disheartening news, however.”

Bruce and Ned frowned as they moved closer to a grim-faced Tony. The young Queen looked chagrined.

“After running all the data and looking over the algorithms, it is my considered opinion that, even with the augmentations you are making to the ARC reactor, you will not be able to generate enough gigajoules to reach across the galaxy in the kind of time frame we are hoping for.”

Tony slapped a hand down onto his workstation. “FUCK! Fuckfuckfuck!” he spat out, rage and frustration flashing across his features. As quickly as his outburst happened, however, it drained out of him just as quickly and he slumped in dejection. Running a trembling hand through his too long hair, he let out a dispirited sigh and leaned forward to place his face in both hands. Silence reigned for several long moments.

“What if...” Ned piped up nervously. The others turned to look at him. “Um... I mean..” his voice cracked in an adolescent squeak and his face flushed an embarassing red. He started again, anxiously jittering one leg. “I mean... can't we, like... supercharge it or something like they do in the 'Fast and Furious' movies? Just, like, a really quick turbo boost or something to get the signal out just long enough to do the job?” 

Tony stared at him. Ned felt like he wanted to sink through the floor. The older man suddenly straightened, however, and with an intense look swung his chair back around to face the hologram again. 

“Shuri, what if we could enhance the output by, say, 400%. Would that work?” he asked.

Surprise flashed across the young woman's features. “Yes, that would certainly do it.”

Tony began to smile, eyes lighting up in excitement again. “How long would we have to maintain that energy level for the signal to work?”

“I would say no more than a few minutes. Why? How are you going to accomplish this miracle?” Shuri asked.

Tony just grinned devilishly. “Ask me some day about the first time I ever met Thor.”

Bruce began to smile, too, as he caught on. Ned just looked confused but when Tony turned his bright gaze on the young man, he perked up.

“Ned,” Tony said, “you just earned your Avengers status.” 

Ned flushed again, but this time in pleased pride. Boy, would he have something to tell Peter when his friend returned!

 

AAA

 

Tony's high came crashing down the following morning as he trudged across the lawn toward the Benatar. His goal was to study the plasma cannon that Rocket had bragged so highly about. He never made it to the ship. Nebula, striding determinedly beside him, caught a flash of sun on something shiny in the trees surrounding the compound and flung herself onto the inventor. Tony plowed into the ground, his breath driven painfully from his body as the whine of a bullet zipped past his ear and threw up dirt next to his face. The sniper never got a second chance. An arrow, streaking with preternatural accuracy from the roof of the compound, tore through his jugular and he fell from his perch, dead before he hit the ground.

“Tony! Tony, are you all right?” Nebula asked as she rolled him over. It was the first time he had ever seen fear in her eyes. His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish on land as he tried to get air into his lungs. He knew it was only because he'd had the breath knocked out of him but he could feel the edges of panic creeping in anyway. Flashes of a bucket of water in Afghanistan zipped through his brain as he tried to suck in oxygen, his eyes blown wide in alarm. Nebula crouched over him protectively, looking him over for injury and becoming increasingly concerned at his non-response. 

With an abrupt and harsh gasp, air suddenly came rushing back into his lungs so forcefully that it actually startled Nebula. Tony coughed and sucked in great lungfuls of air, trembling so hard that his teeth chattered. Clint seemed to materialize out of nowhere and, between he and Nebula, they hauled Tony up and hustled him, staggering and shaking like a leaf, back into the compound. Clint slipped silently back out, racing in a zig-zag pattern to the edge of the forest surrounding the compound and disappeared into the trees. 

Tony's breathing calmed down, although his hands still shook, as he leaned against the wall just inside the door.

“What the fuck?!” he spit out.

“The local authorities have been called and are on their way.” FRIDAY announced. “I've also instructed Mrs. Rhodes to take Ned and Lila to the safe room.”

Bruce came jogging up. “FRIDAY told me what happened. Are you OK?” He gave Tony a quick inspection, eyeing the noticeable tremor in his hands and the pallor of his face. Picking Tony's wrist up, he began to count his pulse.

“Yea, yea, I'm fine. Just got the breath knocked out of me. You know how I hate not being able to breath. It fucking freaks me out. Some asshole just tried to snipe me in my own back yard!” Tony was quickly going from distressed to pissed off.

Clint slipped back in the door just as they heard sirens in the distance.

“I'm pretty sure he was alone. He landed face up, which is fortunate 'cause I got some good shots of him on my phone without having to disturb the crime scene.” the archer stated. “FRIDAY, you wanna retrieve those shots off my cell and run facial rec?” 

“On it!” FRIDAY said.

The next hour was organized chaos as police and crime scene experts crawled all over the grounds past the compound. An elderly Detective who must have been pushing 80, but still sharp eyed and razor witted, questioned Tony, Clint and Nebula extensively. Tony had a suspicion that the grizzled old man had been pulled out of retirement after the dusting and had to give the guy credit for not even batting an eye upon meeting a blue and purple alien. At one point the old fellow had even given Roberta a sly wink as she handed him a cup of coffee, which had set Clint off into a cackle. Roberta had given a slight huff and lifted her chin slightly as she left the room, but Tony thought he caught a slight smile on her lips and perhaps a bit more of a sway to her hips. He was definitely not mentioning this to Rhodey.

By the time the law enforcement circus had left and the body had been carted off, FRIDAY had already drawn up her own conclusions.

“Boss, the name of our sniper was Jasper Fornell and, as far as I can determine, he was a lone crazy. I can't find any indication that he was working with a group. He has an online presence on several conspiracy theory websites and chat groups and has some pretty extreme views on a variety of subjects. He's been investigated before for making threatening statements about other issues and toward public figures but his most recent obsession seems to be about Thanos and the events surrounding The Snap. I think this is a one off.” she concluded.

Tony sighed. “Great. Just fucking great. Now it's not just groups that we have to worry about, but random crazies. How is this my life?”

Clint just clapped the genius on one shoulder as he passed, on his way back to the roof to patrol. Nebula just crossed her arms and glared silently.

Rhodey and Natasha returned later that afternoon and declared that any future business they had would be conducted remotely out of the compound. They would all now take round-the-clock shifts to patrol the compound, one in and one out, for the duration until the battle. Even Tony would patrol, although he was being confined to inside the compound. Between Nebula, Clint, Rhodey, Natasha, Bruce and Tony, there would be enough people to adequately spread the task out. Ned had volunteered, too, but was quickly vetoed. 

Most of the upgrades had been finished. The rest could be done within a couple of days. Now it was just a waiting game.

AAA

It was an unusually hot day in the third week of June and Ned and Tony were finishing the calibrations on two new portable plasma cannons. Tony had managed to make it to the Benetar under cover of darkness, with Natasha and Nebula in tow, to scavenge as much information as he could on the weapons available on the ship without actually tearing in to them to see how they worked. Fortunately, he was very good at extrapolating and the foray had yielded several new ideas. 

The temperature was hovering around the 90 degree mark outside and Tony felt bad for Rhodey, who was on patrol around the outside perimeter. Bruce was the lucky one on inside duty at the moment. Lila had been slightly cranky after she had been refused permission to play on her futuristic Rocket-built jungle gym in the back yard, but Clint had mollified her by taking her to the indoor pool next to the work-out room. Nebula was catching up on some much needed sleep and Natasha was currently engaged in an overseas video conference call for SI in the small conference room. Tony didn't know where Roberta was, but suspected she was, like a general commanding her troops, overseeing the cleaning staff they had brought in. He kind of felt sorry for the cleaning crew, but they were being paid handsomely for their services, so he left them to Roberta's tender, but exacting, mercies.

The mood in the lab was upbeat, hopeful, and Tony found himself bantering with Ned, even if it was in an odd, macabre way.

“No, you see, it's a pet peeve, OK? I keep hearing people going on about how the world has been 'decimated', but the word 'decimate' comes from the latin word 'deca' which means 10 or 'decima' which means 10th. To decimate means to take one tenth of something. Fuckin' Thanos took one half, not one tenth. It's a thing. It's a peeve. I can't help it.” Tony grumbled. 

Ned smothered a grin as the genius turned to double check the young man's readings when the older man paused. The hair on Tony's head stood on end and the smell of ozone filled the air. He grinned at Ned's startled face just as a crack of lightning split the air and a thunderous boom shook the building.

“They're back!” Tony crowed and sprinted from the room.

Thor, Steve and Rocket stood in the center of a smoldering circle of celtic runes, wisps of smoke curling idly around them in the humid, hot air. They looked very satisfied. Lila ran shrieking to Rocket and flung her arms about him. If a raccoon could be said to blush, then he made a very good effort at it. The little alien hugged the little girl back as he glared at the gathered Avengers, daring them to make a disparaging comment. 

They all trooped into the compound where Mama Rhodes waited.

“I've made lemonade. You all take yourselves to the large conference room and I'll bring it in.”

“FRIDAY,” Tony said, “can you contact Wong and Princess Shuri? Ask if they are available immediately?”

“Already done, Boss.” the AI answered smugly.

AAA

Tony stood at the head of the table and surveyed the gathering. Shuri, M'Baku, Okoye and Queen Mother Ramonda stood in holographic form at the end of the long conference table. Arrayed down the left hand side of the table were Thor, Bruce, Natasha and Ned. Sitting on the right side were Roberta, Clint with Lila in his lap, Nebula, Wong and Rocket. Steve sat to Tony's left and Rhodey to his right. 

On the table before them sat a newly made gauntlet, made of Uru and the product of a master smith from another world. A cylindrical sleeve made of the same material lay next to it. Tony took a deep breath.

“Well, it's been a … long eight weeks.” His voice faltered slightly but then gathered himself and continued. “Every single one of you at this table have contributed in some way to what's about to happen. If this works, then there is the very real possibility that within a few days, we may be able to see our loved ones again. I can't promise miracles but, if our calculations are correct, our odds are good that we can call the Stones to us. The challenge at that point will be to use them.” He looked around him, but only saw approving nods.

“I spoke of our plan to King Eitri,” Thor spoke up, “and he approved it without question. He said that he was quite impressed with the cleverness behind it and extends his immense gratitude to you, Man of Iron, for the gift of his new hands. He has declared that you are forthwith an honorary Master Smith of Nidavellir and will always be welcome should you choose to visit.” 

“Oh, wow, OK.” Tony blinked. “That's... that's really cool. Thank you. Umm, so Queen Shuri, I'm assuming that you've finished the inner casing in Vibranium?”

“Of course. General Okoye, M'Baku and a contingent of my finest warriors will be arriving tomorrow with it. They will be staying for the upcoming battle.” 

Rhodey grinned. “That's some of the best news I've heard. Wakandan warriors are some of the fiercest I've ever met. Your help is more than appreciated.”

“If there is a possibility of bringing my son and the rest of the Wakandan's that disappeared back to us, we consider this our duty and one that we willingly perform.” Queen Mother Ramonda stated. Her regal carriage and proud demeanor almost hid the subtle, desperate hope in her eyes. The hope of a mother who wanted her son back. Tony felt a shiver run up his spine. There was that same desperate hope in every eye around this table. So much was riding on his plan. He felt nearly crushed under the responsibility. Pushing the thought aside, he turned to Rhodey.

“What kind of time table are we looking at to put our forces into place in Oregon?”

Rhodey stood. “I have access to six Marine regiments, so that's about a little over 4000 Marines, seven battalions of 1000 soldiers each from the Army and four squadrons of Huey's from the Air Force. I've also got five enhanced teams from around the world coming in and offers from Britain, Canada and several other nations for soldiers. I can have twenty thousand men and enhanced on the ground in 48 hours, if needed.

There was a stunned silence. 

“whoa” Ned whispered. Clint just nodded agreement. Roberta beamed proudly.

“OK,” Tony said, “it looks like our fearless leader has everything in hand. It's going to take me a few days to finish up the new suit with the upgraded ARC and tweak a couple of new weapons that we've been working on so... “ he looked to his left, catching Steve's eye.

“Cap, how would you like to have the biggest birthday party known to man?” he asked. Steve's eyes widened, then a slow grin slid into place.

“Fighting aliens on the Fourth of July?” Clint spoke up.

“Just like the movie 'Independence Day'.” Tony cackled.

“Well then, that would make me Will Smith and you Jeff Goldblum.” Steve said, laughing for the first time in 8 weeks.

AAA

 

Tony sat, silent and still, on the balcony outside of the main common room. He really wasn't supposed to be out here, vulnerable to anyone willing to take a pot shot at him, but he needed the air. It was 3:00 a.m. in the morning and the summer night air was redolent with a damp, earthiness that was soothing. Crickets and frogs made a cacophony of sound around him, yet he still heard the barely there footstep behind him. Nebula stepped out of the shadows.

“You should not be out here.” she said. Tony said nothing. Nebula took a seat beside him.

“You are worried about the battle.” It was not a question, but a statement. Tony brought his hands up and scrubbed his face. Nebula noticed that they were trembling.

“There's so much riding on this, Nebs. One thing goes wrong and we are done. Over. And a lot of people dead, so yea, I'm worried. I never wanted this much responsibility. It's too much. An entire fucking universe is riding on my plan and, granted, there were a lot of fingers in this pie, but it's still my plan and I feel... I feel like I'm being crushed by the weight of it.” He let out a gusty sigh and sagged back into his chair, letting his arms drop. 

“I just want my Pepper back. I want my kid back. I want everyone to get their loved ones back.”

“You know that you can't bring everyone back, right?” Nebula stated bluntly. Tony looked up at her. “Gamora did not die from The Snap. Thor's people and Eitri's people did not die from The Snap. Everyone who died as a side effect of The Snap or everyone who gave up and committed suicide because they lost someone... these people will not come back. Gamora is gone. I will not get her back, but I choose to do this anyway because I will not let my Father win. He will die in a few days and he will know that his grand design has failed before he does. I will make sure of that.”

Tony considered her determined face for a long, long moment, then patted her hand.

“We'll see, Blue. We'll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we are getting close, my peeps. I've tried to be fairly logical in my presentation of this story, making facts and events seem somewhat realistic. I'll be leaving the reservation into pure comic book antics in the last few chapters, however, so buckle up!


	13. Chapter 13

The day dawned bright and clear in Harney County, Oregon on July 4th. The air was arid and the forecast predicted a high of 81º. Steve surveyed the terrain, a mixture of gullies and hillocks covered in big sagebrush, rabbitbrush and bunchgrass. The ground was very uneven and mountainous escarpments rose in the distance. Not ideal ground to do battle on, but it was scantily populated and the climate was right. There were certainly more deserted areas in the U.S. that they could have chosen but either the terrain was even worse than this for fighting or the climate too hot for the health of the troops during strenuous battle conditions. 

Turning in a 180º circle, he tried to scope out the surrounding troop placements. Colonel Rhodes and the rest of the command staff in charge of the military personnel were positioned on a rise almost a mile away. Rhodes was in the War Machine armor and would be joining them shortly. The troops themselves were stationed a half mile out, which would not only allow them room to see what transpired without being on top of an unknown situation but also allowed for possible fall back if needed. Other enhanced groups were scattered amongst them, ready to join in. They had around 38 square miles to contain the battle in, if needed. He hoped they wouldn't need it. For all they knew, nothing at all would arrive with the stones apart from Thanos, who nobody doubted would come. That, of course, would be the best possible outcome but they couldn't take that chance. They would try to be ready for anything. 

Bruce waited with the command staff, as well. He didn't know if the Hulk would be joining the party but, if not, the scientist would retreat to the outer perimeter, where M.A.S.H. units had been set up. One way or another, he would assist in what was to come, either by using his medical skills or as the Hulk. Which one remained to be seen. 

Steve, with his serum-enhanced eyesight, caught sight of M'Baku, alongside 200 of Wakanda's finest warriors, on the outer fringes of the troops stationed to the East. He had reluctantly agreed to hold his warriors at the same distance as the rest of the troops until it could be determined what they were dealing with. Half a dozen of Wong's acolytes were scattered amongst them. A flash of gun-metal grey and arc-reactor blue caught his eye as the War Machine armor rose above the assembled military might. Steve saw several soldiers salute and cheer as the Colonel soared above their heads. Colonel Rhodes was popular and highly respected within all the military branches. The suit hovered above the heads of the small group of people in the epicenter of the gathered armed forces before slowly descending. Steve turned back to his own small force.

Nebula, General Okoye and Natasha stood with their heads together and Steve wondered what the deadly trio of women could be talking about. Clint, with his preternatural archers eyes, seemed to be inspecting the surrounding troop deployments as well. Rocket, Wong and Thor watched Colonel Rhodes as he settled to the earth next to a newly armored Tony and flipped his visor up.

“Ok, we're a go and, just a heads up, I've been told that Christine Everhart has managed to set up long range surveillance video cameras about three miles away on a bluff overlooking this entire valley. I'm not sure how she even knew something was going down here much less how she managed to swing permission to be within the combat zone but she's managed it.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I'm sure she's got moles all over inside the government. She probably waved her First Amendment right in front of the brass and marched right out here with her crew. Not much they can do about it. Journalists have been in active war zones for decades. They've probably got a couple of the new Nikon COOLPIX 900's up there, too, for still photos. They have a zoom so powerful, you can actually see the craters on the moon.” 

“Well,” Rhodey said, “I guess whatever shit comes down the pike is going to be saved for posterities sake. Not much we can do about it now. Tony, are you ready?”

The genius just nodded. It was hard to tell how tense he was through the armor, but there was a tightness around his eyes that betrayed his nervousness. The new Uru forged gauntlet rode conspicuously over his armored left hand. The heroes came together in a tight circle for the last time. Tony looked at the other nine people standing with him and caught each of their eyes in turn.

“Thank you for getting me here. I couldn't have done this on my own. I thought that, when Thanos showed up the first time, it was the event that I had been waiting six years for. Now I know it isn't true. This is it. Everything has come down to this. We stand or fall today.”

They all stood a little straighter, faces determined and unflinching. 

“Listen up.” Rhodey commanded. “I want all of you to clear some space for Tony and Thor to do their thing. Once the stone is activated, everyone but myself and Thor will form up on Tony. Our mission is to make sure he has the time to complete his task. Keep the fuckers off of him. I'll be directly above calling the plays and coordinating with the surrounding troops. Thor, you have one job. Take that Motherfucker down.”

Thor's answering grin was feral and vicious. “Aye, they will sing ballads for millennia about this great battle. Our names will be legend and our deeds known throughout the universe. It is time to bring our people home.”

Tony's heart clenched at Thor's savage desperation. Thor knew that, even if they reversed the effects of The Snap, it would not bring back the people slaughtered on The Statesman. It wouldn't bring back Loki. At most, he would be adding a couple of thousand more Asgardian's to his group, but every Asgardian life was now precious to Thor. There were so few left. 

They began to move apart but Steve lay a hand lightly on top of Tony's arm. The rest of the group left them. Steve shuffled his feet nervously as his one time friend gazed at him expectantly. These last few weeks had proved that they could work together, and work together well, once again. It was true that the close camaraderie had been missing and Steve yearned for the days when he would have felt comfortable just hanging out in the lab, but Tony had been cordial and pleasant in a mildly professional way. He hadn't sought Steve out but he hadn't avoided him, either. Steve counted that as a win. 

“Tony,” Steve said, “just... I wanted... I know I screwed everything up between us but... just don't die, OK?” 

Tony searched Steve's face carefully, seeing the sincerity and concern there and gave the younger man a small smile as he patted the hand still resting on his armor. 

“I'll do my best, Cap. Keep 'em off me, OK?” 

“Or die trying.” Steve vowed solemnly and Tony simply nodded in acceptance before the two parted.

Tony took his place in the center of the field, 50 feet across from Thor. The genius let the nano-armor flow back enough to reveal his right hand, then plucked the new reactor housing out of the casing in the center of his chest plate where it rested in a place of honor between the nano-ARC's on either side of it. The inner workings of the housing had been completely reworked to make it as strong and durable as possible. The new sheath that it sat in, with its inner casing of Vibranium nestled into an outer casing of Uru, was shallower than the original, which had sat so deeply within his own body, but was almost twice as thick around the rim because of the double casing. This would be the moment of truth as to how well his and Shuri's designs had worked. Reaching into a compartment on his left leg, he extracted the Starkanium core from its protected nacelle and held it up. It glowed softly in the morning light. With narrowed eyes and grim determination, Tony slotted the core home into its new housing and quickly inserted the ARC unit into it's new casing. It began to hum an infrasound frequency too low for Tony to hear but he felt the faintest resonance of it in his bones.

With a nod of acknowledgement, Thor turned and paced off 50 feet, then turned back again. Tony braced himself, one foot back to give himself leverage. Now that the moment was upon them, the adrenaline coursing through his veins made him feel almost high. He gave the Thunder God a thumbs up and took one last look around at the assembled forces. The feeling of anticipation in the air was almost palpable, rolling off of the soldiers, the enhanced and his friends so heavily that is was almost smothering in its intensity. Then the air began to crackle and Tony focused his attention back upon the blond Asgardian.

Thor had Stormbreaker raised above his head. Eldritch fire slithered up and down the head of the massive axe and the smell of ozone filled the air. Wind currents shifted and coalesced overhead, shaping themselves into thunderheads. Without warning, a jagged spear of lightning snaked across the heaven's and flowed down into the head of the axe. Without hesitation, the God of Thunder swung Stormbreaker down, pointing it toward Ironman, and a lightning bolt shot across the intervening space before it slammed into the new ARC reactor.

The flare of blue was so bright that one had to shield their eyes. It would certainly be wreaking havoc on the lenses of the spying cameras. Tesla lighting danced and flung itself in joyous patterns about the armor in a mind-boggling array. Even if the H.U.D. wasn't giving him the information, Tony could feel the power ramping up. The hair on his head was standing on end. The flow of energy abruptly ceased from Stormbreaker and an eerie silence fell over the assembled masses. The H.U.D. read 'power: 400%'. The reactor would maintain that level until Tony expended the energy, but it wouldn't be safe to hold it for more than an hour, he had determined. After that, he risked burning the reactor out.

As the storm clouds dissipated overhead the hush over the crowd turned into nervous whispers, apprehension and anxiety stealing like a thief among the soldiers. Five minutes passed. Then ten. Nerves were stretched and resolve tested as dread of the unknown gnawed at the fortitude of those who had never faced enemies like the ones that were possibly coming. The Wakandans stood stoically, serene and undaunted as the soldiers around them shifted diffidently. The Avengers had gathered once more in the center of the half mile radius circle of combatants, wary but calm.

Almost fifteen minutes after Thor had supercharged the ARC reactor, a low rumble filled the air and a strange breeze kicked up bits of dried tumbleweeds and ruffled strands of hair as an ominous pressure seemed to build. Everyone tensed. The Avengers and Wakandan's knew the signs. They had already lived through this once. A moment later a large rent in the fabric of space, filled with roiling, inky clouds and jagged streaks of blue lightning, opened 100 yards distant from the gathered superheroes. There was a curious second or two where nothing happened, and then the massive purple form of Thanos began to emerge. He did not step forward eagerly and confidently as he had the other times the Avengers had seen him come through the portal, but with dragging step and a murderous expression on his face. His right hand was folded over the charred, warped gauntlet on his left hand, visibly restraining it to his chest as it seemingly tugged him forward against his will.

“STARK!” Thanos roared, and his voice rumbled across the valley. “I should have let you DIE!”

It was obvious that, even though he struggled to hold on to the stones, he still had at least partial use of them, for the portal not only did not close immediately, but continued to widen as suddenly, with a screeching, discordant cacophony, thousands of multi-armed horrors poured through the rift. Through the comms, Rhodey could hear orders being rapidly issued from the command post a mile away for the troops to form a pincer movement and he ordered the Avengers to fall back to the Eastern line of defense where the Wakandan's stood. It would not do to have the heroes caught in friendly crossfire between their own forces. Now that they knew where Thanos' army came out, they could firm up their military strategies. 

“I should have sought you out years ago when I first heard your name whispered in the dark corners of the galaxy and killed you!” The Mad Titan bellowed as Thor took his first running steps toward him.

Tony launched himself into the sky, yards above the oncoming fray and stretched out his own gauntlet, 'pulling' with all of his considerable will power, calling to the Stones. He could feel an answering tug through the reactor. The Heart Stone had been designed with only one purpose in mind, to 'call' the other Stones to it and, with the influx of eldritch energy Thor had infused it with, the attraction between his reactor to the other Infinity Stones was clearly more than just a signal for the other stones to follow. Tony could almost feel the physical yearning that pulsed in his chest.

“You snooze, you lose, Raisin Face.” he snarled.

The Space Stone abruptly slid out of the damaged gauntlet on Thanos' hand, slipped between his fingers and zipped across the intervening space as if it were an iron filing drawn to a powerful magnet. The Heart Stone in Tony's chest throbbed as it called. The second the Space Stone left Thanos' possession, the swirling portal slammed closed, cutting any Chitauri emerging through its opening cleanly in half as the Stone settled into its new home on Tony's gauntlet. The genius felt a frisson of energy pass through him as it fixed itself into position and a sense of vastness passed through his mind. A hundred yards away Thanos roared in fury.

Thor surged toward the Mad Titan, flinging his axe back and forth against the overwhelming tide of monstrous Chitauri foot soldiers, but the going was slow as Thanos directed hordes of the deadly aliens to fall upon the Asgardian. The others fell back to the Eastern flank. Because that was were Tony was located, Colonel Rhodes directed some of the firepower from the North and South to form up on the Eastern perimeter to shore up their defenses and left the Western flank to catch the Chitauri army in between. Rhodey estimated that somewhere between ten and twelve thousand Chitauri, including a couple dozen flying monsters that looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and an oversized pit bull, had come through before the portal shut down. He was imminently glad that he'd brought a sizable force to the party and that two of the Enhanced who had volunteered, Guardian from Canada's Alpha Flight and Sunfire from Japan, [12] could fly. He would need help to keep the flying Chitauri off of Tony.

Gunfire erupted from all around them as the military forces opened fire on the incoming Chitauri, who plowed forward without hesitation or fear. They were cannon fodder serving their master, nothing more, willing to sacrifice themselves on his whim. The alien monstrosities, something that looked like they came out of a nightmare, plowed relentlessly into the forces on both sides of the valley, covering the half mile on either side of the portal with inhuman speed and much faster than the forces surrounding them had anticipated. In the far distance, the sun flashed off of cameras that caught the entire confrontation for all the world to see. 

Tony, above the fray for the moment, gathered himself and concentrated on the tug in his chest again, calling forth toward the remaining Stones. The snarl that erupted from Thanos was audible across the valley as the Reality Stone and Power Stone followed the Space Stone across the distance between the Mad Titan and Ironman. 

“I will rip you limb from limb, Stark, and erase your name from the universe! I will obliterate everyone you've ever cared about! I will lay waste to this planet and make of it an example to all the other worlds!” Thanos howled as he pointed in the direction of the armored man hovering above the other Avengers. The flying monstrosities immediately wheeled in the sky and flung themselves forward. 

Thor bellowed a cry of rage and launched himself into the air, lightning crackling and dancing about him in a pyrotechnic display. He slammed down directly in front of the Mad Titan, axe cleaving through the air. One massive, purple hand shot up and caught the axe just under the axehead, staying the killing blow that would have split his skull in two.

The two new stones settled themselves into the gauntlet and Tony felt another rush of power sweep through him. His skin felt like it was buzzing. The thought flashed through his head that, while the belief that humans only used 10 percent of their brains had been scientifically proven to be a myth, at the moment it certainly felt like a reality to him as his brain felt like it was beginning to expand. Or maybe getting ready to explode. He couldn't decide. He swept up his other hand and let off a short repulsor burst to fend of one of the flying Chitauri things. He couldn't afford to bleed off too much of the supercharge that Thor had bestowed before he could get all of the stones, but he couldn't afford to become bird food, either. A moment later, an explosive arrow took down another creature. Tony spared a quick glance toward the ground and a thumbs up to Hawkeye as three flying forms, Guardian, War Machine and Sunfire settled into a triangular perimeter around him.

On the ground below Tony, Wong and his acolytes were opening portals around the oncoming hoard and sending Chitauri to the Dark Dimension. Okoye and Natasha stood back to back, weaving a deadly net of carnage about them. Rocket, armed with one of the new portable plasma cannons, stood with Captain America and Clint in a triumvirate of destruction while Nebula, never a team player, weaved in and out of the ugly creatures, dealing out death with a gleam in her eye and a smile on her lips. It was dirty work for all of them, grim and ugly. M'Baku and his Wakandan warriors used their new, shorter, higher powered staves to greater effect in close quarters to rip into the four-armed aliens, blowing them apart with ruthless efficiency.

Tony hovered, taking it all in with a quick glance, before focusing on Thanos once again. The purple behemoth had managed to throw the Thunder God off momentarily and was striding toward the genius while masses of Chitauri swarmed over the downed Asgardian. Tony saw the murderous intent on Thanos' face and threw his will into another desperate summons. The Mind and Time stones slipped away from Thanos' grasp and skipped across the battlefield to snug up into their slots on Tony's gauntlet. This time, Thanos' roar of rage seemed to shake the battlefield into a microsecond of silence before the Chitauri renewed their efforts with ever increasing fervor. 

Every hair on Tony's body was definitely standing on end, now, and despite the protection afforded to him by the Uru casing and gauntlet and the cushioning armor, his body felt electrified. FRIDAY's voice in his ear sounded a bit frantic.

“Boss! Stones … interference... breaking up... losing...”

Fear began to trickle down his bones but it was too late to turn back now. Around him, the flying horrors were screeching madly as claws tried to reach and rend him. Rhodey's guns boomed and his repulsors flared as he fought to keep them off of his best friend. Guardian's plasma bolts and Sunfire's searing blasts of solar fire contributed to make the air around the four superheroes smell like a revolting bar-b-cue of roasting meat. Tony was sure that the ground-based Avengers weren't very happy with the smoldering gobbets of burnt pterodactyl/mutant-pitbull remains that were raining down on them. He looked up and Thanos was almost upon them.

“THOR! Where are you!” Tony bellowed through the comms. In response, it wasn't the beleaguered Thunder God, buried under mounds of Chitauri, that answered, but a bone-shaking, ground-rattling roar from an escarpment almost a mile away. A large, green object came hurtling from the direction of the command center and Hulk crashed to the ground between Tony and Thanos with enough seismic force to rattle teeth. If one could ever say that they had witnessed a clash of titans, then they would have been on the battlefield that day. The camera's three miles away were no doubt eating it up, along with the image of Tony suspended in the air just yards from the two raging behemoths. Chitauri scattered around the two as they grappled furiously with each other. Without the Power Stone, Thanos and Hulk were evenly matched. Bits of tumbleweed and clods of earth flew about the two as fists pounded at each other. 

Tony gathered his resolve and concentrated once more on the Heart Stone. Even though it was encased in the armor above his chest, it felt almost as if it were sitting heavily _on_ his chest instead. One more time he stretched out his gauntleted hand and 'called'. This was it. The Soul Stone. The last of the six stones and the one that contained everything he held dear. The stone that Nebula's sister had given her life for. He wasn't sure if he was going to be asked to sacrifice something. He wasn't sure if it would ask anything of him at all. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he felt the strain and he forced himself to shut out everything that was going on around him and focus solely on his desire to have the Soul Stone sitting next to its brethren. The sounds of battle faded away. The growls from Thanos and Hulk. The far away angry roar as Thor threw off hundreds of gibbering Chitauri beasts. The cry of pain that came from Natasha, below him. The grunts of effort from the other Avengers and Wakandans as they fought for their lives. The sizzle of portals opening to the Dark Dimension. The whine of repulors and plasma blasts from the air around him. The sound of countless weapons discharging and the cries of injured or dying men. The snarling, howling, gnashing sound of the thousands of Chitauri foot soldiers climbing over themselves to reach their enemy. Especially him. He shut it all out and called.

With a soft click, the last Infinity Stone settled into place on his gauntlet and Tony suddenly felt as if he was holding on to a live wire. His body arched as he let out a pained grunt. The Uru and the armor were keeping the worst of it away. Barely. It was painful, but not unbearably so. His brain seemed to expand outward by leaps and bounds. Tony had tried LSD once, during his wilder days. This felt like being on LSD but a hundred time more powerful. He could _feel_ space, time and reality. He could hear the whispers of the souls trapped in the Soul Stone. His mind felt the slightest tension, like a pond skating water bug resting on the surface of the water, as the thoughts of billions of beings brushed up against him. Power, unlike anything he'd ever known, pulsed through every cell of his body. He was not aware of it, but from the outside, his armor had begun to glow slightly. Nearby soldiers and Avengers were momentarily startled before they turned back to their grim task. Across the valley, the gentle blue glow was being recorded on the long range cameras. 

Nebula's harsh, triumphant laugh rang out, clearly audible to the Mad Titan.

A few yards away, Thanos bellowed again. “STARK...!”

Tony centered his thoughts, placed two fingers of the gauntlet together... and snapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [12] Yep, Guardian and Sunfire are both Marvel canon 
> 
> We're in the endgame now! (OK, yea, I couldn't resist...)


	14. Chapter 14

Tony's body felt like it was on fire. His left arm burned as if someone had poured acid on it. He pushed it away. He'd undergone meatball surgery, without anesthetic, sternum sawed through to make room for an electromagnet. He could handle this. 

He sent his consciousness into the Soul Stone. Trillions of lives from across the galaxy brushed up against his thoughts, briefly touching and acknowledging him as he sifted with inhuman speed through them, plucking out the individuals who had been ashed in situations that would lead to their deaths upon reconstitution, such as an airline pilot whose plane was no longer there, and changed their space and reality to set them somewhere safe. They were the first to re-form. Tony then gathered everyone else up that had been ashed and began to will them back into existence. He couldn't do it as fast as Thanos had. Not instantaneously. He hadn't the strength. In large increments, beings across the galaxy began to reappear. His brain felt like it was going to burst apart.

On the ground below him Thor, battered and bleeding from thousands of bites and gashes, rose from beneath the mound of hundreds of Chitauri weighing him down and summoned fire from the heavens. He sent it forth from him in a detonation of energy and alien bodies flew apart as the eldritch force blasted through them, laying waste to everything in a 50 yard radius. The Thunder God staggered a few steps, then steadied himself, looking around to analyze the situation. Spying his prey he began to run. 

“THANOS!” he bellowed and launched himself into the air once again, Stormbreaker coming up in a lethal arc. Below him, Hulk glanced up at the incoming Asgardian and grinned in malicious glee. He braced himself and clutched at the Mad Titan's arms, holding them both in a punishing grip. He was delighted to see the first true flash of fear cross Thanos' face as he realized what was happening and tried to pull away. It was too late. Thor crashed down upon them swinging Stormbreaker, the God Killer, down upon the Mad Titan's head and cleaving it in two. 

A sudden pall fell over both armies as the realization of what had just happened swept over the assembled forces and, for just a brief instant, everything came to a startled standstill. The only person not concerned with the death of Thanos was the armored man hovering 50 feet above the fray, glowing in ever brighter hues of blue/white. Then both the dead, purple alien and the ravaged Thunder God slumped to the ground and the spell was broken. The Chitauri, leaderless and desperate, fell upon their enemies with renewed desperation.

Hulk swept the insensate Thor into his arms and bounded away toward the M.A.S.H. units. The blond god looked half dead, blood pouring from seemingly everywhere. Around Tony, the last of the flying aliens fell leaving Ironman, War Machine, Guardian and Sunfire alone in the air. The latter two took themselves off toward a group of soldiers who were struggling to contain the aliens from breaking through their lines. Rhodey remained near Tony, keeping an uneasy eye on the silent, glowing figure while assessing the battle on the ground and barking out orders.

Directly below him, the Black Widow lay clutching a deep wound in her side as Okoye, Nebula, Captain America and Clint surrounded her. They were all bloodied in various places. Clint was limping heavily. Okoye had a gash above one eye that was bleeding profusely. Steve's uniform was rent completely down the back and bloody claw marks had lain the flesh open from neck to hips. Nebula's left hand hung at an awkward angle, sparks sputtering about the warped joint. They were weary, injured and covered in blood, guts and burnt gobbets of alien meat but they fought on. Now that the flying Chitauri had been eliminated, the ground aliens were actually trying to climb atop their dead brethren, in some cases flinging corpses onto the pile, in an effort to create a mound of flesh high enough to reach Tony. It was morbid and inhuman, almost beyond comprehension. It was the stuff of nightmares. Above them, the Ironman armor became increasingly brighter, almost incandescent as they struggled to turn the tide of relentless Chitauri away from their grisly task.

Out in the center of the battlefield, long since cleared of enemies who had flung themselves toward the lines of soldiers on either side of the valley, a gleaming gold portal suddenly appeared, spinning and throwing off sparks like a windmill fireworks. Through the portal, from a dead alien planet, five figures emerged. Rhodey, in the act of removing Natasha from the battlefield and on his way to a M.A.S.H. unit, spied the newcomers and shouted into the comms.

“It worked! It worked! I see Spiderman. Tony has reversed The Snap!” His voice reverberated down the coms and the word spread. Rocket shouted in joy and flung himself into the fray with renewed vigor.

The newcomers glanced around them, taking in everything and processed events quickly. They were positioned behind the Chitauri who were thickest near the suspended, glowing Ironman and saw the Avengers and Wakandans below the hovering genius fighting with a desperation bordering on mania. They witnessed the thousands of Chitauri engaged with soldiers up and down both fronts and considered their options. Quill made the decision quickly and pointed to the thick clump of alien foot soldiers trying to break the Avengers apart in their efforts to reach Ironman.

“There!” and with that simple order, the Guardians, the sorcerer and the teenager raced across the intervening space to join their compatriots.

Peter Parker gawked at the image of his mentor, hangin in the air above the fray. Moments earlier he'd come back to awareness on the same planet he'd died on. He remembered the feeling of slowly disintegrating. It hadn't been painful. Not really. But it was such an awful, horrifying awareness of his body slowly dissolving away that he knew it was a memory that would never leave him. Then, suddenly, he was aware again and with him were everyone that had been there with him after Thanos had left Titan. All but Mr. Stark and a frisson of fear had wiggled itself through him. Dr. Strange's head had come up and he'd closed his eyes. The sorcerer hadn't seemed at all surprised with the turn of events, almost smug even, and seemed to be searching for something. He had turned his head from side to side as if listening to something no one else could hear. With a nod, he had opened his eyes and smiled at them.

“Come.” He had said and opened a portal to a green valley that smelled of sage and blood. Then they had stepped back into their own world only to be met by death and destruction all around them and the unearthly sight of Ironman suspended in the air above carnage and screams as the armor glowed a blinding bluish white. Tony's arms were flung out to either side, his head flung back and his back slightly arched, splayed out against the blue backdrop of a perfect July sky. It was almost like something out of a painting, if one could discount the screams of the dying and the smell of gore on the breeze.

“Oh God, what has he done?” Peter murmured as he streaked across the field. 

Tony was unaware that his young protégé and his fellow companions from Titan had returned. He was so far into his head, now, that he feared he would never return. As his mind, so vast now that he feared he would become lost, seemed to be shattering so, too, his body now seemed to be drifting apart. He diverted a small portion of his thoughts to holding himself together as his cells expanded. The solid mass of the reactor in his chest seemed heavier and heavier, pressing down, down, down into his chest, sinking into the center of his entire being. His skin seemed to be splitting as it emitted light through the cracks, bursts of energy so bright that it physically hurt as it poured through the seams and joints of the armor. Tony's left arm burned. It seared. It felt blistered and scorched, skin bubbling and frying like bacon on a skillet. It was unbearable and yet he knew that his work was not yet done. He had to try to ignore it, hold his body together and complete his task before he could rest.

Outside, those connected by comms began to hear a low, continuous pained moan. Tony, however, was oblivious. Now that he had returned everyone that had been ashed, he turned to his next test of strength. No one would blame him if he stopped right here, with the dusted returned, but Tony knew he could do more. He had to do more. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try. 

Again he sent out his thoughts and pulled on the energies of the Time and Mind stones to quickly sift through events just prior and after the events of The Snap, brushing across the galaxy and probing, analyzing, scrutinizing, all within a few moments. His awareness had reached God-like powers but they were ripping him apart. Just a few more seconds more and then he could rest. Working as quickly as possible through the crippling pain, he skimmed across time once again and selected all of the beings who Thanos had killed just prior to The Snap, those that had died as a result of The Snap and those who had committed suicide in the weeks following. Tony had not the time nor the energy to sift through the reasons why beings across the universe had killed themselves. If they were disappointed and determined then they would just repeat the process, he concluded, but if they committed suicide as a result of grief, they would find their loved ones returned along with a renewed reason to live. It was not his place to judge.

He did not realize that he was screaming now, his hoarse howl of agony ripping through the comms and audible out on the battlefield. Using the Power, Time and Reality Stones, Tony grabbed onto the individuals he had selected and yanked them out of their own time and reality moments before their deaths and set them down into the current time and reality. It wasn't a perfect method by any means, and all of the results weren't going to be favorable, but it was all that he had the skills or the time to achieve. Around the universe, people whose deaths were directly related to Thanos in the buildup to The Snap, and indirectly afterward, began to reappear. Some of them simply died again but it was the best Tony could do. Going forward, people (or beings) who had witnessed the deaths would have two distinct memories. One of the deaths themselves and one of the doomed individual disappearing right before their eyes. 

On far off Nidavellir, a host of dwarves suddenly appeared. In Norway, the Space Stone deposited over 2000 newly resurrected Asgardians on the streets of Numedal. One green eyed mage looked about him and began to laugh. On the plains outside of the Wakandan palace, dozens of slaughtered warriors emerged to join their recently reconstructed, formerly ashed companions, their King, several Avengers and one sentient tree. In the middle of a valley in Oregon, in the midst of a battle, Gamora, daughter of Thanos, arrived to blood and chaos. She smiled.

Tony, his mind so limitless now that it had begun to fracture apart along with his body, saw all of the possibilities that he could undertake. He saw all of the horrors he could fix, all of the wrongs he could right, all of the diseases he could cure, all of the destruction he could erase and knew that it was achievable in his current state. He also knew that anything more than what he had already achieved would scatter him to the vastness of the cosmos. He would be lost forever, his physical form destroyed and his sanity torn apart. So he began to pull back into himself, stitching his cells back together again. His awareness outside of himself was still minimal. He could feel overwhelming agony everywhere, especially in his left arm, and a fiery mass in the center of his chest, but he was too exhausted to acknowledge it. It took every single iota of his remaining strength just to make sure his body was no longer flying apart to worry about the little details. With a final thought, the Infinity Stones disappeared from the gauntlet

On the battlefield, Nebula and Steve stood below the glowing armor. Bleeding from a dozen places, they stood back to back now. Clint had been removed from the battlefield by helicopter, his leg too injured to hold his weight, to join Thor and Natasha in the medical tents. The Hulk had reappeared, plowing into the tower of dead Chitauri bodies and the living foot soldiers crawling up their corpses. He'd made short work of flinging the living and the dead away. The ground beneath Tony had been cleared and the green rage monster had departed to wreak havoc on the ever dwindling numbers of Chitauri up and down both lines of defense. The bullets of the arrayed allied forces couldn't hurt Hulk, so he forayed amidst the gunfire with abandon, ripping the aliens apart as soldiers, airmen and enhanced cheered him on.

Rocket, upon seeing his team come through the portal, had raced to join them with a cry so ferally joyful that it had raised the hair on the back of Steve's neck. General Okoye had left them to take up leadership of the remaining Wakandan's after M'Baku, sadly, had fallen. Dr. Strange, seeing that Wong and the four remaining acolytes had exhausted their magical energies to a dangerous degree, had portaled them to the command center before returning to take up their task. 

Rhodey, still positioned as close to Tony as he could be within the radius of the all encompassing, brilliant light pouring forth from the Ironman armor, had emptied his arsenal of bullets and mini-missiles into the Chitauri below and was left to occasional replusor blasts from his diminishing energy reserves. His jaws ached from gritting his teeth so hard he feared he had cracked a molar as the wailing scream of torment that came from his best friend eroded his self control away. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever been forced to endure as he simply hung in the air next to Tony while listening to him suffer and knowing that, for the good of the universe, he couldn't intervene. He had to let events take their course, for good or ill, and simply be there to deal with the aftermath, whatever form that took. 

The screaming abruptly ceased and Rhodey flung himself around just in time to see the brilliant glow around the Ironman armor suddenly fade away and the boot repulsors sputter. He reached for the left arm but, seeing the mangled remains that were left of it, he grabbed for the right arm instead. He barely managed to snatch Tony's right wrist as the armor's power cut out and Ironman fell. Rhodey slowed their descent clumsily but Steve and Peter were there to cushion the landing, gathering Tony's body up and lowering him gently to the ground. Peter was shocked to see the paint bubbled and blackened in places on the armor and a feeling of dread swept through him. The Guardians, led by Quill, took up position around the small group, surrounding them in a protective circle from any Chitauri still stupid enough to take their revenge on the man who had out maneuvered their overlord. Nebula joined them.

Rhodey, Peter and Steve knelt beside the still form in the Ironman armor. Steve sucked in a breath. The ARC reactor, the 'Heart Stone', that should have been sitting in the center of Tony's chest plate, had sunk down out of sight, the glow of it coming from the recesses of Tony's chest.

“Mr Stark?” Peter queried tremulously. Rhodey flipped his faceplate up, peering down at Tony. Reaching forward, he flipped open a panel and touched three buttons in a specific sequence. The nanobots flowed back into the two ARC reactors on either side of the now empty center ARC to reveal Tony's limbs and part of his torso. His face, grey and slack in unconsciousness, never twitched. 

Peter gagged. Tony's left arm was destroyed. Sections of the radius, ulna and humerus showed above the charred remains of the gauntlet, now free of Infinity Stones. The flesh from midway between the shoulder and elbow to where the arm disappeared into the gauntlet was flayed and burnt. The forearm covered by the ruined gauntlet appeared to be fused directly to it. Rhodey carefully lifted the solid chest plate away from his friends body and groaned. The Heart Stone glowed softly from the center of Tony's chest, embedded more securely than the original ARC reactor had ever been, as if it had grown there. 

“Oh God.” Rhodey whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

Pepper Potts sat in the comfortable easy chair next to Tony's bed, typing away on her Starkpad. It had been two weeks, now, since she had suddenly found herself amongst the living once more. It had been a strange experience. One moment it had been early May and the next it had been July 4th. It was very disconcerting. One thing she had remembered, however, was a brief moment where she had known, with a certainty as great as the knowledge that the sun would rise in the East, that Tony had been there with her for a single, shining instant before she had reappeared.

The first thing she'd done after coming back to herself in the Tower was to ask FRIDAY what had happened. In lieu of an answer, FRIDAY had switched on the large screen TV and Pepper had watched, horrified, as the Battle of Ashes (as the media had dubbed it) played out before her. FRIDAY had brought her up to speed quickly enough but it had still seemed too surreal to be possible, even for someone who was used to the impossible. She'd watched, on live TV as the rest of the world had watched with her, as her fiancé hung suspended in the air, glowing, while monsters battled with heroes both ordinary and extraordinary. 

She glanced at the form in the bed next to her and mentally cringed at the sight of Tony's left arm. A stump was all that remained. The doctors had no choice but to take the arm seven inches below the shoulder joint. It had been startling to have been notified by FRIDAY only a short time after watching Tony fall from the air that he had suddenly appeared, by magical portal no less, in the Trauma Unit at New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell straight from a battlefield in Oregon. The doctors had done all they could, but Tony had not awakened. No one could explain why. Coma by Infinity Stones was hardly a thing that Earth doctors were knowledgable about. 

Once the media, and therefore the world, had found out where Tony was, Rhodey and Pepper had moved him to the compound. The media frenzy had been insane. Thousands of people a day had stationed themselves outside the hospital. They'd finally had to move Tony for the safety of not only himself, but the hospital, too. Now he lay, with monitors, wires, a catheter and a feeding tube, oblivious to the firestorm of attention he and the rest of the Avengers had garnered.

The battle had raged on for another four hours after Tony's collapse. There were losses. M'Baku and almost a hundred of Wakanda's finest warriors and twenty of their famed Dora Milaje had perished. Four thousand of the twenty thousand allied soldiers had lost their lives. Half a dozen Enhanced and two of Wong's acolytes were gone. Many had been injured, some critically. It had been a horrible, bloody battle but, in the end, it had been deemed a triumph for humanity. The dead were hailed as heroes. There was talk of turning the site into a national park with a monument to honor them. The friends and families of the fallen were grieving and yet, at the same time, had to acknowledge that their loved ones had not died in a battle for greed or land or politics or hatred, but to set right a wrong that had been perpetrated against not only Earth, but against every single living thing across all the galaxies. It was mind boggling. Amidst the grief there was also pride.

Bruce and Shuri's new antibiotic had been pushed through trials at an unholy speed. Thousands of combatants from the Battle of Ashes had wounds that had become infected. Some responded to regular antibiotics. Many did not. What they were calling Vancomycin-X was being used with the understanding that it was an experimental drug, but so far the results had been good. 

Of course everything wasn't that simple. Nothing ever really was. Nothing this complex was ever tied up with a neat, shiny bow. There were always going to be those that could find fault with any situation; fear mongers, critics and politicians using the events for their own gain. There were going to be those few who asked “Why didn't he do more? Why didn't he save...” They were already coming out of the woodwork. Among the thanks and the tributes there was the occasional hate mail or angry television interview. Humans never failed to find ways to hate. In the midst of so much sacrifice by so many for the greater good, there was still bitterness and anger.

Rhodey had described all the events from the last several weeks and how the plan to return half the universe was pulled off. The story of Tony's return to Earth and his illness scared Pepper almost as much as the battle itself. She could accept the reconciliation with most of the ex-Vengers and had grudgingly accepted the understanding that Tony and Steve had reached. Pepper knew that Tony would never fully trust Steve with his heart again but, then again, knowing up front what one is getting into was half the battle. Tony was the kind of person who could work with just about anyone (look at Nick Fury!) so she wasn't surprised that he and Steve had reached an unanimity with each other. Steve had protected Tony with everything he had during the battle. Pepper hadn't reached that level of accord, yet, but she was working on it for Tony's sake.

The stories of the assassination attempts has made her blood run cold and, in the event that there were other crazies out there wanting to pull off a Mark Chapman [13] type of execution, she had hired a bevy of ex-Shield agents to beef up security around the compound. The Avengers couldn't protect the compound 24/7 on their own. They were needed elsewhere a lot of the time and she would not put Mrs. Rhodes and the boys at risk. She felt a swell of affection toward Ned and Peter. The story of how Ned had become an important member of Tony's little post-Snap family warmed her heart. She had already fallen under Peter's spell long before The Snap and now she had two of them! They were making their way to the compound every few days on the bus from Queens to Mid-Town Port Authority, just on the edge of Hell's Kitchen, to Stony Point Center. Happy had been picking them up from there. All in all, it was a two hour trip one way and she had yet to talk them into letting her provide them with their own driver but she'd wear them down eventually. She was good like that. 

Roberta Rhodes entered with a cup of coffee and Pepper smiled at her gratefully.

“Roberta, I don't know what we would have done without you. You are a treasure.” Pepper said. Roberta preened just a bit.

“Honey, I've felt more alive and needed in these last few months than I have in years. It keeps me young and it lets me spend time with my son. I saw way too little of him before. I know I'm old, but I think I've got a few more years in me and I can't think of anything I'd rather be doin' than to be in charge of the Avengers compound. How many people can say that?” She turned toward the bed. “How's our boy today?”

Pepper sighed. “The same. The doctors said to keep talking to him and maybe it would help. I don't know. He never even twitches. I... I just don't know.” 

Roberta patted the younger woman's hand. “It'll all work out, my dear. You'll see. That boy has never given up on anything in his life. He won't give up now.”

AAA

Steve gazed down at the man in the bed. Today was one of his days with Tony. They had worked out shifts so that someone could be with him every day. He observed the most notable change, aside from the missing arm and the light glowing softly from the sleeping man's chest. Tony's face lay slack, it was true, but it had smoothed out. The wrinkles that had formed around his eyes and the creases across his forehead were gone. It was more than just the relaxation of muscles caused by sleep. He didn't look young, per se, but neither did he look old. It was... strange. The doctors has said something about his eyes, too, but Steve had yet to see them open, so he couldn't judge. All in all, Tony had gone through some terribly fundamental changes and Steve grieved for the sacrifices that the genius had willingly undertaken on everyone's behalf.

Taking a seat next to the injured man, Steve began speaking.

“So, Natasha had her final check up yesterday with the doctors and they said she's almost fully healed. She's still going to be sore for awhile, but no lasting damage. She's damn lucky. She's not field ready, yet, but she should be fighting fit in another month. She also told me yesterday that Pepper offered her a job as her P.A. Said that she was pretty impressed with the job she'd done in her absence. Nat says she's going to take it. Says she really kind of liked the whole corporate thing and that, if you could handle a job with S.I. and be an Avenger at the same time, so could she. 

“Clint says 'Hi' and that he'll be back after you wake up to talk to you properly. He and Lila beat it back to Iowa as soon as his leg would hold him. Lila couldn't wait to see her Mom again but, God, did she set up a hissy fit when she had to leave Rocket behind.” Steve chuckled a bit at the memory of the little girl clinging to Rocket's neck, then sobered. “He's really, truly retired, this time. His leg won't ever be quite right again. He's going to have a permanent limp. If you don't mind, I think I'd like to invite them all for Christmas, though. His Avenging days are over but he's still family, ya know? And Lila really liked it here and loves her 'Grandma Rhodes'.

“Oh, that reminds me, the Accords council has lifted the Emergency Protocol that allowed us back to fight, but because of what we did in the fight against Thanos, they've now put us on Probationary Status. I realize that it's not going to make up for some of the things that happened in Bucharest, but we're working on some things, like community service and stuff, so...” Steve trailed off. He shifted uncomfortably for a moment before plunging on.

“Bucky asked to become an Avenger. I'm not sure how you're gonna feel about that when you wake up. Colonel Rhodes said he's gonna have to pass quite a few tests first, like a psych eval and such, but he's willing to accept his application and have him go through the approval process. It's... it's everything I could have wanted. Everything I could have ever dreamed of. But the cost...” he choked out, unshed tears making his eyes bright.

“You knew all along what was coming and you tried to tell us. We ignored you and shut you down and look where that brought us. For that, I will never forgive myself. You once asked me how we would cope if something like this happened and I told you 'together' and you asked what would happen if we lost and I told you we would do that together, too. And when it all came down to it just as you predicted we did neither.”

Steve put his head in his hands and scrubbed his face furiously and groaned.

“How did we come to this, Tony?” he whispered.

AAA

“I'm sorry, brother, there's nothing that I can do. He sleeps. This is beyond my expertise. He has an Infinity Stone of his own making living in his chest. I can feel the presence that the other Stones have left with him and I dare not meddle too much. I do not know what the consequences would be, to him or myself. He either wakes... or he does not.” Loki announced.

Thor looked thoughtful as his brother took a step back from the bed. He shifted stiffly and Loki frowned.

“Sit down, you big oaf. You are barely out of your own sickbed. Even a god takes time to heal from the claws and fangs of those accursed creatures. Sit!” Loki grumbled with a great show of annoyance at having to put up with his brother's shenanigans. They would not speak of the days that Loki refused to leave Thor's bedside as the Thunder God hovered in feverish delirium. Thor sighed and acquiesced, lowering himself into the chair with a stifled groan.

“Tis hardly fair that I should be fêted by the entire world, nay the entire universe, for killing the Mad Titan, while the Man of Iron lays so still and lost to us because of his deed for, if not for him, I should not have had the chance to defeat Thanos nor have you and Heimdall by my side again.” Thor murmured sadly.

“Fear not, brother. I owe a great debt to him, more than I can possibly ever repay, and tales are even now being told in all the corners of the universe of what has transpired here. You and your merry band of idiots will not be forgotten, nor your Man of Iron consigned to oblivion. Even now, Huginn and Muninn travel the branches of Yggdrasil with the tale of the Mighty Avengers of Midgard and how the Man of Iron and the God of Thunder set the universe to rights again. Of course, if perhaps there was a God of Mischief amongst those Avengers, who's prowess and bravery helped to bring about this great victory, well... “ he finished with a impish glint in his eye. 

AAA

“It's time to stop lolling about in bed and get up, Stark.” Nebula groused crossly. “I can't stay here forever and protect your lazy ass.” 

She turned to look out of the window. Yet another group of stupid humans were leaving bunches of flowers at the gates to the compound. How that helped anything escaped her comprehension. There were even gifts beginning to show up from beyond the confines of earth. Ms. Potts, a truly remarkable woman who Nebula had to grudgingly admit she admired almost as much as the Black Widow and General Okoye, had hired a security firm to go through all of the gifts, Terran and extraterrestrial, to see if there was anything that Tony, Thor or any of the other Avengers and their support staff would appreciate before donating the rest to worthy causes. Ned and Peter, especially, were making out like bandits and the gifts from off world had been especially attractive to the two teens. Nebula had taken it upon herself to personally inspect any otherworldly objects before she would allow them to be offered in tribute to any of the silly Terrans. Many of the alien gifts went into storage for future study but those two menaces still ended up with a few. 

“It's been almost a month, now. You have work to do. The Guardians are talking about leaving but I am not going anywhere until you've finished what you... what _we_ started. Wake up, you idiot.”

AAA

“Hey, so, uh... I wanted to thank you.” Quill began, then scrubbed a hand across his stubbled chin. He looked at the others in the room with him. Drax, Mantis, Rocket and Groot stood near the door as he and Gamora stood next to Tony's bed. Starlord had Gamora's hand in his, which seemed to be the norm these days. He was never far from her.

“As plans go, this one... uh, yea... this one didn't suck so, you know, there's that. Doc Strange has been an arrogant, insufferable ass about it, really, thinking he had something to do with it...” Quill trailed off uncertainly before rallying again. “So, we're going to take off for awhile. Things to do. Guardians of the Galaxy and all that, right? We also wanna see what's going on out there, take the universe's pulse, catch up with the rumor mill. We'll be back, though. Nebula refuses to leave until she knows that you're going to be all right. I guess we've got to stop by some farm in Iowa, too, before we go. Rocket insists. I've got no idea what that's about.

“I gotta tell you, I haven't been back to Earth since I was a kid. The music sure has changed, but I like a lot of it. Ms. FRIDAY installed a music program on the Benetar. It's pretty cool. Got over 5000 songs! Anyway, I... uh... I owe you, man. Like really owe you, so if you ever need anything, I've left Ms. Potts and the rest of your crew a way to contact us and we'll be back when Nebula says you're awake, so I can do this right.”

Peter shifted self-consciously, feeling kind of silly talking to an unconscious man, but Pepper had told him that Tony needed the stimulation, so here they were. He looked around him at his family and they nodded.

“Yea, I think we can go now.” Rocket said quietly, stepping forward to place a hand on Tony's remaining arm for a second. “Besides, I gotta stop by the pantry and load up on olives before we leave.”

AAA

Vision held Wanda's hand as they sat side by side silently contemplating the sleeping man in front of them. It had been almost six weeks now since they had found themselves together again on the fields of Wakanda, stunned to find themselves alive again. Wanda had flung herself into Vision's arms, weeping in joy. It had taken them a few minutes to realize the difference. Vision was whole again, every part of his personality and most of his powers intact and yet the Mind Stone was no longer physically present. It was as if part of the energy of the Mind Stone had been deposited into his core but the stone itself was gone. Shuri had been very informative with them and her brother when it came to discovering what had transpired during their 'absence'. To find out that Shuri had been heavily involved in the plan surprised no one (indeed, her brother had been immensely proud) but to find out the sacrifices that had been made on their behalf had been humbling. It hadn't taken much deduction to realize that Tony had imbued Vision with some of the power from the Mind Stone as he resurrected the android.

Now they sat here. Ms. Potts, after carefully contemplating Wanda, had shown them in. They were aware that she and Colonel Rhodes were just outside the door. Indeed, Pepper was vary rarely far away and, if she had to be attending to SI business, Colonel Rhodes or Nebula were certain to be in her place. Wanda looked up at Vision.

“Can you feel it?” she asked. 

“Yes.” Vision replied calmly. “His entire being is saturated with their essences. He is... more, now.” 

Wanda nodded, eying Tony with a bit of awe and a hint of fear. “He's not entirely human any more, is he?”

“No. He is not.”

She clasped his hand tightly as they contemplated the glow that came through Tony's hospital gown. The Heart Stone glowed softly through the material. The Uru and Vibranium casing had disappeared somewhere along the way, leaving only the modified, shallow ARC reactor behind. It looked like a miniaturized star had grown there, weaving itself inextricably into the very fabric of Tony's body. It would be impossible to remove it now.

“I know we are supposed to be talking to him, but I can't think of anything to say. We've... we've never really gotten along.” Wanda murmured. Vision smiled down at her.

“There is no need, my love. I believe he knows we are here.”

They sat in silence for a while before rising to leave. Wanda hesitated, then bent down to lay the palm of one hand against Tony's cheek. 

“Thank you.” She whispered.

AAA

“Well, this is a fine mess you have found yourself in.” Shuri announced as she waltzed into the room. T'Challa and Okoye followed at a more sedate pace. 

“I hope you don't mind but I'm going to take readings of you, Mr. Stark. Actually, I don't care if you mind, I'm going to take them anyway. FRIDAY's going to help, aren't you FRIDAY?” Shuri announced. 

“Of course, your princessness.” FRIDAY responded, so clearly a product of her 'Fathers' upbringing. “I've taken many readings already that you are welcome to. If you have more that I haven't thought of, I'll be happy to run them.”

“Of course I do.” Shuri sassed back impishly. “Ms. Potts gave me permission to run anything I deem might be helpful.”

“Sister,” T'Challa admonished softly, “this is a sick room. Some decorum should be observed, don't you think?”

“Pffft! Tony would not wish us to be 'decorous'. I'm sure if he could be rolling his eyes at us right now, he would be.”

“She is correct.” Okoye remarked seriously. “Mr. Stark shows an alarming lack of courtesy in most things. I think, however, that we can... how do they say... 'cut him some slack'. He brought my King back.”

T'Challa huffed. “Don't encourage her, General. She is already impossible.” Shuri merely grinned at him before directing FRIDAY in the scans she wished to run. T'Challa and Okoye moved off to the corner.

“Truly, General, how does she fare?” T'Challa murmured quietly.

Okoye contemplated her King for a moment before answering. “She may not show it outwardly, but this experience has deeply affected her. She is not the same young woman she was before The Snap. She has matured greatly, evidence to the contrary.” She said, nodding to the teenager happily chattering away with Tony's AI. “She does not want to burden you with her new-found anxieties and concerns, so she acts the happy girl you knew before, but she has grown in many ways. She was an admirable and sensible Queen for the short time that she ruled. I am glad she has been able to return to her childhood but, if you should ever fear for the future in the event that something happens to you again, you may take solace in the fact that our country will be in good hands.” They both looked up as Shuri clapped her hands.

“Excellent. Thank you, FRIDAY. I will analyze the findings and see if there is anything we can do for our Ironman. Now, I must find Peter and Ned!”

And with that, she swept out of the room.

AAA

“There were several boars' tusks and the claws of tigers and leopards mounted in symmetrical patterns, and a big head of Ovis Poli, six live grass snakes in a kind of aquarium, some nests of the solitary wasp nicely set up in a glass cylinder, an ordinary beehive whose inhabitants went in and out of the window unmolested, two young hedgehogs in cotton wool, a pair of badgers which immediately began to cry Yik-Yik-Yik-Yik in loud voices as soon as the magician appeared...” Bruce broke off his reading as Stephen Strange stepped into the room. The sorcerer's lips tilted in the tiniest of smiles.

“'The Once and Future King'?” 

Bruce nodded. “Tony loves the Authurian legend. I thought about reading 'The Mists of Avalon' to him but I remember him telling me once that his mother had read him this book when he was a child.” 

Strange contemplated the genius' still form. It had been almost two months, now, since Tony had fallen.

“You do realize that, more than likely, mothers will be reading their children books like this about Ironman? What Tony did, what they all did, will become legend and, someday, myth. Not only here on earth, either. The tales are already circulating beyond the stars. He will become something more, something mythical in the retelling.”

“Steven,” Bruce stated slowly, eyeing the sorcerer warily, “Tony _has_ become something more. I can see it. Everyone that visits can see it. I _know_ you can see it.” 

"Yes.” Strange responded evenly. “You can't hold the power of six... no seven... Infinity Stones, much less use those powers to the extent that Tony did and not be incontrovertibly changed. How much I can't say, but I feel it. I, myself, hold a residue of the Time Stone. People who are sensitive to these things can perceive a certain aura about me. Tony _reeks_ of it. He is drenched in the essence of them. It's rather unnerving, truthfully.”

Bruce looked troubled. “What does that mean for Tony?”

Dr. Strange gazed at the still figure on the bed.

“I don't know.”

AAA

“So, anyway, M.J. says 'Hi' and that she's sorry she can't visit this week. She's got some family reunion or something.” Peter chattered to his mentor. He was slung sideways across one of the plush, comfy visitors chairs, legs hanging over the upholstered sides. Ned slouched in the chair next to him, fiddling with a Starkpad. Natasha had asked if he could tweak the voltage on her Widow's Bites to take them down a notch. The Chitauri killing levels on them were too much, now. 

“Yea, I'm not sure I believe her.” Ned murmured. “Ever since we introduced her to Shuri a couple weeks ago, they've been thick as thieves. They Facetime and text each other constantly. I thought she was geeked out when she met Pepper but it's like she's got a new BFF with Shuri. They're up to something. I just know it.” The teen pulled a face. 

“Hey, it's not like you already didn't know the Princess first, Mr. I-lived-with-the-Avengers-for-six-weeks.” Peter sniped back. Ned just grinned back at him. 

“Well, you know, I _am_ a junior Avenger...”

“So am I! Mr. Stark made me one on the space ship!”

“Ahhhh, but he made _Spiderman_ and Avenger. Peter Parker is the best friend of Ned Leeds, one of the Avengers support staff. Official Man-In-The-Chair in training.” Ned crowed. Peter rolled his eyes.

“Yea, yea. You're a world famous hero now. It's sucks that I still have to keep my secret identity and everyone wants to interview you. I was on Titan! I was in space!” Peter griped. Ned looked thoughtful. 

“You know, there's no reason why Pepper couldn't arrange an interview with someone she trusts to talk to Spiderman.”

Peter perked up. “Yea, that might be cool. I'd like to tell people how things really happened on Titan.” He turned to Tony. “That would be OK, wouldn't it, Mr. Stark? Oh, that reminds me. I've been talking to other people who have been... been ashed and they all felt the same thing that I did...” he trailed off, mood dampening. He continued more somberly, head tilted to one side as he gazed upon the man who had brought him back to life exactly two months ago to the day.

“Everyone felt you, you know. It was like... like you brushed up against me or something, only in my mind. Pepper felt it, too. M.J. said it was almost like a whisper inside her head and, even though she'd never met you, she knew it was you. Weird. A lot of people have described it as a whisper in their minds. Aunt May said it was like a mental caress, which, ewww. I like whisper better. The soul world was... it was kind of... I don't know how to describe it. You knew you were someplace and you knew other people were around you but it was like you were half asleep or something. Like that feeling where you are between sleeping and waking and you kinda know what's going on around you but it's not real yet? That's what it was like and then for a brief little moment I knew you were there and it's the most aware that I was for the whole time and I was, like, oh! It's Mr. Stark!” He turned to Ned.

“Did you hear they're doing a documentary on the whole thing? I think Colonel Rhodes said there was a film crew that asked for permission to come to the compound and interview everyone so I bet they're going to want to talk to you, too.”

Ned nodded thoughtfully. “Yea, you know that might be a good time to get Spiderman's perspective of being in space with Ironman and Dr. Strange and the Guardians, too. I think Mr. Rogers said they were trying to get a hold of T'Challa and...” he trailed off, eyes widening. 

Peter's face creased in bewilderment at his friend before he realized where Ned was staring, stunned. Whipping around, Peter's own eyes flew wide. Tony Stark was gazing back at them and the cosmos swirled in his eyes. Peter bolted upright. 

“PEPPER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [13] Mark Chapman assassinated John Lennon. He did it for many reasons, including the fact that he wanted the notoriety, even though he idolized Lennon. 
> 
> Well, this was supposed to be the last chapter, but it got away from me, so there will be an epilogue!


	16. Chapter 16 - Epilogue

Helen Cho stepped out of Tony's room, not surprised to find a crowd gathered. She sighed.

“He'll be out in a minute. He's getting dressed.”

“How is he?” Rhodey asked, tense and anxious. Helen shook her head. 

“You know I can't discuss details with you but I will tell you that, as far as I can tell, he appears... healthy?” She shrugged helplessly. “There is no precedence for what he has been through. We will continue to monitor his health going forward.” 

The door opened again and Pepper and Tony stepped out. Pepper kept a steadying hand on Tony's remaining arm. He'd been bed-bound for two months and was just the tiniest bit unsteady. Tony had changed from his hospital gown into jeans and a long sleeved tee. The lower half of the left arm of the tee was conspicuously empty, swaying a bit as he moved. His feet were bare.

They came to a stop before the assembled Avengers and friends. Tony took them all in. Thor stood with Loki and Bruce. Steve, Nat, Bucky and Sam were gathered by the window as Rhodey, Roberta, Happy and Nebula clustered near the door to Tony's room. Wong and Steven Strange hung toward the back of the room, as did Vision and Wanda. Peter and Ned, however, stood on the other side of Tony's door, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. Tony turned to them and smiled.

“I think I'm ready for a real hug now, Pete.” were the first words out of his mouth. Peter flung himself forward, arms circling his mentors neck as he buried his head against Tony's shoulder.

“Don't ever scare me like that again!” he blurted and Tony huffed out a quiet little laugh. 

“That's exactly what Pepper said.” He murmured, glancing to his right and smiling at the love of his life. She gave him a slightly teary smile in return as she squeezed his arm.

Around them, the rest of the room was eerily quiet, taking a moment to process the changes they found in their team mate. The missing arm was obvious. The glow from the ARC Heart Stone through the fabric of Tony's black Led Zeppelin tee was more or less expected. What had been speculated upon was now confirmed. It appeared that time had been turned back for Tony's body. He looked a decade younger and yet his age seemed indeterminate. His face was wrinkle free but not young. Nor was it old. It was more like river stones that had been washed smooth over a long period of time, ambiguous and ageless. 

What was a jarring shock were Tony's eyes. There were no visible pupils or cornea. His eyeballs where almost entirely black, now, with faint colors shifting and stirring in their depths. If one stared too long into them, the universe seemed to be contained therein; galaxies, solar systems, quasars, comets, nebulae, constellations, supernova's, black holes and all of the wonders that made up the cosmos – all swirling by in the recesses of his gaze. Tony was eerily beautiful, now, but his eyes were ancient, with the wisdom and sorrow of millennia buried there. The dichotomy was jarring. There was something otherworldly about him that was at once appealing and disturbing in equal measures. Natasha felt a shudder run through her and fought an urge to take a step back. 

Keeping an arm draped protectively over Peter's shoulder, Tony glanced around the room and smiled softly.

“Thank you, for visiting me while I was... lost. I heard you, all of you.” He swung his unearthly gaze upon Steve and gave him the tiniest of nods. “I just... couldn't find my way home for awhile. Your voices helped to guide me. I know that I... that I'm not the same person I was before the battle. I wondered, before I called the Stones, what sacrifice the Soul Stone would ask of me.” He looked over to Nebula, then to Dr. Strange. 

“I think it's pretty obvious that it took whatever it is that makes me human but... it didn't take my humanity. Those are two very different things. I hope that makes a difference to you. I hope you can still be comfortable around me.”

“Tony,” Steve asked, “Where did the Stones go?” 

“I sent them away. They are scattered to the far corners of the universe in very obscure places. I suppose there is a chance that someone might find them, some day, but I doubt it. Regardless, I'll keep an eye on them. As you've probably guessed, I left a part of the Mind Stone's powers with Vision.” Tony faced Dr. Strange again. “I've also kept the Time Stone close to us. If you should really need it, I can call it for you.”

Strange and Wong's faces relaxed minutely. It had been a concern. Their Order had been charged with its protection for centuries. To know that they could have access to it, if need be, was a comfort. Tony did not tell them that it was hidden in a very deep crater on the Moon. Very close, as outer space goes, and easily retrieved. If they ever got to the point where they began mining minerals on the moon, he would have to come up with a different plan. That was a thought for another time, however. 

Pepper interrupted what looked like a deeper conversation in the making. “And now I think we'd like to have a bit of private family time, if you don't mind.” She cut her eyes toward Rhodey and Happy, tilting her head in their direction before guiding Tony toward the elevator. As the four moved off, she looked back over her shoulder. “Boys, Nebula, are you coming?”

Nebula, looking shocked and pleased, trailed after Ned and Peter.

AAA

Two days later found Tony in his workshop, the TV droning on in the background. The news of his awakening had stirred up the Battle of Ashes fervor all over again and his name was splashed over every network. Again. Things had just begun to get back to normal after two months, although there were still plenty of issues to be resolved. One of the major problems post-revival was the many people who had stepped up to help out during the crisis. Older people who had proven themselves to be valuable workers were now unwilling to be put out to pasture once again. Age discrimination had been proven to be a real and problematic issue, glaringly brought to life when those elders who actually wanted to stay in the workforce were now no longer needed and were in danger of being marginalized once more. They were not going back to the shadows quietly. 

The many skilled workers from other countries whose licensed occupations and college degrees helped to keep the world together and now suddenly found themselves once again denied because of red tape and diplomas that were not recognized in their current locations were clamoring for swifter and broader adjustments to policies. Emilio, Tony's nurse during his illness, had been a licensed Registered Nurse in his own country but had been waiting over a year to complete the labyrinthine process of applications and American credentials before The Snap. Helen Cho had snatched him up during the post-Snap chaos. Now he was once again relegated to waiting as he drove a taxi to make ends meet.

Food distribution was still a concern that was just now beginning to show signs of improvement. There were still riots and fighting in areas of the world where the food shortage had become critical because of the logistics. Airplanes were in the process of being built to replace the ones that had crashed and air travel costs were at a premium as space was limited on the remaining planes. There was a demand for trained therapists and psychologists that could not possibly be met because of the huge number of traumatized people. The list went on. The world was not in as much chaos at it had been right after The Snap, but all of the returned Ashed or dead did not magically fix everything, either. It was a work in progress. 

Tony wondered how soon it would be before someone asked him to “fix things”. He dreaded it. He was seen, now, as some kind of miracle worker or savior. He was not. He was different, it was true, and he had yet to discover all of the ways in which this was the case, but he couldn't just magically cure all ills like some websites were claiming. He found himself under an entirely new type of burden now. For the comfort of himself and the people around him, he'd taken to wearing dark shades to hide his eyes. There was no disguising his strange, ageless appearance, however, or the glow of the Heart Stone through most all but the heaviest of clothing. He was slightly panic stricken at the thought of going out into public for the first time and what kind of reception he would receive. For just a second, he had a vision of crowds of people surrounding him with their sick and dying, begging to be healed when there was nothing he could do, the expectation on their faces of a miracle that wouldn't happen, the crushing sense of helplessness in the face of so much misplaced hope as they pushed closer and closer with their arms outstretched in supplication.

His straying thoughts were pulled back to the present by a young voice.

“I think I've got it. Does that look right?” Peter looked at him with eager anticipation. Ned peered down at the heavy amulet laying on the workbench between the three. Tony raised an eyebrow at the two teens across the table. Even with darkened shades, Tony's facial expressions, body language and mad eyebrow skilz made up for lack of eye contact. The two teenagers practically vibrated with excitement. Tony pulled the amulet toward him to inspect the contents. It was almost 2 ½ inches in diameter and a little over a quarter of an inch thick with a stylized mechanical gear in a raised motif on the front. At the moment it lay opened, like a locket, on the table top.

Tony swiveled the swing-arm illuminated high powered magnifying glass over the amulet and peered at the inner workings. He grabbed a micro-point tool with his one remaining hand.

“Hold it still, please?” he asked. Ned held the amulet in place while Tony carefully examined the tiny components inside, gently poking at a couple of things before touching a microscopic dot inside. A blue glow began to pulse from the interior of the jewelry piece. Tony grinned at the two boys. 

“Close 'er up. Let's try it out.” Both boys pumped their hands in victory. Standing up, Tony tilted his head down just slightly to allow Peter to slip the heavy duty chain over his head. The amulet came to rest just above the Heart Stone. Tony looked at Peter, then at Ned and tapped the amulet twice. 

Nanobots flowed from the Amulet and formed a support structure acrossTony's right shoulder and around his upper chest before forming a smooth, modern pauldron and manica around his left shoulder and down the seven remaining inches of his left arm. The nanotech continued to stream downward until, within the course of just over a second, an arm, hand and fingers appeared. Tony lifted his new hand, colored Ironman gold for the moment, and wiggled the fingers experimentally. Once again raising an eyebrow, he faced the two boys with a smirk and pointed one gold finger at them.

“Bingo.” 

They whooped in joy.

AAA

It was a balmy day in Mid-September with perfect blue skies and the merest hint of Autumn in the leaves as the Avengers and friends lounged in lawn chairs or sprawled on picnic blankets on the lawn behind the Compound. A week ago Roberta Rhodes had declared that there was going to be a day of celebration before everyone turned back to the hard work of post-reconstruction and world security. A day to de-stress. Shuri and Okoye had arrived the night before. The young princess was currently playing lawn croquet with Ned, Peter, M.J. and – weirdly – Loki. Seeing Loki dressed casually in black jeans and a jade green button down was weird, as well. The game the group played wasn't like any croquet game that Tony had ever seen. Loki had made up his own rules and the teens had taken to them with enthusiasm. Tony wasn't sure how he felt about Loki's odd affinity with the young adults but Thor had assured him that they were in very safe hands, so whatever. He was just glad that the kids could enjoy time here at the compound. School would begin the following week, delayed because of the events over the last few months. They would make it up by running late into the following summer.

Clint had arrived with Laura and the kids in tow. The two older Mini Agents had promptly made a dash for Rocket's alien jungle gym and were busy trying to out-do each other. Young Nathanial clung shyly to his father's legs, however. Roberta arrived from the kitchen with a large pitcher of lemonade to add to the groaning table of snacks and sandwiches a short distance away before settling into a lawn chair next to Pepper. She was followed by May Parker with a veggie tray. May then drifted off toward Laura Barton, who stood watch over the rambunctious Lila and Cooper. May, a little less trusting than Thor, was able to keep a closer eye on the teenagers and the alien god from next to the jungle gym. She was soon in deep, lively conversation with Laura Barton. Both women were smiling. The mood was laid back and friendly, people rejoicing in each others existence and the conclusion to terrifying time. 

“So you will be returning to your adventures with the Guardians soon?” Okoye questioned as she sipped an iced coffee.

“Yes, they are on their way. They should be here in three or four days. My duty here is done.” Nebula responded, looking smugly satisfied.

“Well,” Okoye smiled, “should you ever wish to give up space-faring, you would be most welcome in the ranks of the Dora Milaje.”

“She would be welcome with the Avengers, as well. She'll always have a home with me.” Tony threw out there. Nebula's face was as impassive as ever, but her eyes shone.

“Hey, speaking of the Avengers, you seem to be collecting new ones right and left.” Clint piped up, pointing in the directions of Ned and Peter, then Bucky.

“Well, those are Baby Avengers over there.” Natasha smirked, indicating the teenage boys.

“True, but I'll have you know that I got a heads up the other day on a couple more teens that have gotten themselves on the Accords radar.” Rhodey said. Several heads swiveled toward him. “I said I'd keep an eye on them and, if they looked like they were going to start using their powers for more than just party tricks, I'd approach them. For now, the Council is not interested. They're not causing problems and they're underage. One of them is an archer, though.” He raised an eyebrow in Clint's direction.

“Great, next thing you know, we'll be starting some kind of Avengers Academy or something.” Sam quipped. Steve laughed.

“What? I think you'd make a great school councilor, Sam.” Steve teased. “And Clint could be an instructor. Spy Class or something.” He sat on a blanket not far from the food, surreptitiously holding Bucky's hand. He had determined that he wasn't wasting any more time. He'd lost Bucky twice. He wasn't going to waste a third chance. Tony was right. This wasn't the 40's anymore. 

Tony observed the flesh hand holding the metal one and wondered if Bucky could feel Steve's warm grip. He looked down to his own nanobot hand, which couldn't feel... yet, and ideas began spinning in his head even as he joined in the teasing.

“Would that make Steve the principal? Nat's got an honest job, now, and SI isn't letting her go so she's out.”

“What are the chances that we could get Loki into the Avengers?” Bruce asked. Clint grimaced. He was aware, after talking to Thor during their time guarding the compound, that Loki had been as much a victim of Thanos as he was of Loki, but the archer hadn't been able to completely reconcile himself enough for complete forgiveness just yet. 

“Perhaps, some day.” Thor said thoughtfully. “Right now, our people need both of us. Neither I nor Brunnhilde are politicians or diplomats. Loki is very good at both and, right now, we are navigating the politics of Midgard. When I am off with the Avengers, Loki will rule in my stead. In truth, he probably does it better than I anyway. Mayhaps I will bring the Valkyrie Avengering with us some time. I shall have to speak to the Accords Council about granting her a back up status, if that pleases you, Colonel?” 

Rhodey pondered that and was nodding thoughtfully when a golden portal sprang to life on the lawn. Dr. Strange and Wong stepped out. Stephen was dressed casually, in jeans and a polo. Wong held up a plate.

“I brought Ma Lai Gao. It is a traditional Cantonese steamed cake. My mother made it.” he grinned sheepishly. Vision graciously rose before Roberta could and took the cake from Wong. 

“Thank you, Wong. It looks delicious.” Roberta exclaimed. The new arrivals settled into chairs. Stephen Strange eyed the four teens and Loki for a moment.

“That's not the way you play croquet.” He announced.

“We know.” Tony smirked. “Just go with it.” Vision and Wanda looked at each other in confusion. They had no idea. They'd never played croquet before.

The afternoon progressed in a similar fashion. Ideas were formed, jokes were made and all the worlds problems were theoretically solved in the way that such parties went. The croquet players eventually gave up their convoluted mutant croquet game and joined them, Peter sitting against Tony's knees. The conversation grew very animated and Tony basked in the warmth of the idyllic afternoon. He was almost content. He knew this day was a departure, a break from reality. For one shining day, they could pretend that all was right in their world. Tomorrow there would be stress and worry. He would almost certainly be at odds, again, with a few of these people. But today... today was like a mini-vacation from all that had come before and all that would come after.

As the sun began to sink toward the Western horizon, he stood and held out his human hand to Pepper.

“Let's take a walk around the lake.” They set off toward the small lake at the very back of the property, hand in hand. Pepper noticed his suddenly somber mood.

“Honey, what's wrong?”

“Nothing, really.” Tony sighed, raising her hand to kiss it. “This is more than I could have dreamed of for an outcome when all of this started. You know me, though. I can always find something to worry about.” 

Pepper stopped him beside the lake, reaching up to stroke her fingers down his cheek. “What is it?”

“It's... it's just that... I'm not really... I'm not fully human anymore, honey. I'm not sure how I feel about that. How you feel about that. Does this bother you?” Tony asked, eyes downcast behind his shades. Pepper smiled softly.

“Tony Stark, you are the most human person I've ever known. It doesn't matter to me if you have an Infinity Stone in your chest and the universe in your eyes. You are my Tony, and I love you.”

Tony heaved out a great sigh. “God, I love you so much, but you know that I'm probably immortal, right? I don't think I can die anymore. At least not by natural causes. I'm not going to age. I'm not sure, yet, what all this entails. I'm still figuring it out.”

Pepper bit her lip, silent for a moment. “I admit that getting old while you stay the same is kind of depressing, but I'm not going to think of that right now. I've got several years before that's going to be a thing that I'm going to worry about, so I won't. There's too much right now to be happy about. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, OK?”

Tony nodded, still downcast. “OK. But... I'll never be able to give you a child now. I'm not sure I can and, even if I could, I'm not sure what my current genetic make up would do to a kid. I had hoped...” he trailed off.

Pepper placed both of her hands on either side of his face and pulled his head up to look her right in the eyes.

“Tony,” she whispered “that day, the day when all of this started, you said you had a dream. I told you it was just a dream.” 

She took his hand and placed it on her belly, where just the barest hint of a swell had formed on its once flat surface, and her radiant smile reflected upon the stars in his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed my spin on Infinity War. If you did, please leave Kudos or, even better, a comment. If you did _not _like it, and ignored the very plainly stated tags, please think twice before jumping on the Troll Train and being That Person. Flames ultimately discourage people from writing fan fic and if everyone gives up, where would we all be, eh?__
> 
> __  
> _I will not be continuing this story. It is complete for me. If, however, someone should wish to build upon it and write further adventures in this AU, please feel free. Just keep the original essence of the story intact and credit me._  
> 


	17. Timestamp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a little additional fun tidbit about 3 of our 4 favorite teens that takes place after the story.

“So I hear you're invited to Pepper's baby shower?” Peter asked, munching away on his taco from the mall's food court. 

“Yep.” M.J. nodded smugly. It was a poorly hid secret that she was a huge admirer of Stark Industries female CEO and, now that she was a part of the Stark's 'inner circle', she was soaking up all the knowledge that Pepper was willing to impart on steering the shark infested waters of a male dominated world. “It's next week. I'm still deciding what charity I want to donate to. She's not asking for gifts. She wants donations of money or time to charities in Morgan's name and since I really don't have very much money I'm thinking of volunteering at a women's shelter.”

“The baby's not due for another two months and they've already named it?” Ned queried.

“What's wrong with that?” Peter said. The Saturday crowd at the Mall was noisy, making it necessary for the three friends to lean slightly toward each other to be heard. “They've known the sex for months. This little girl is going to be the most famous baby on the planet. It's hard for Tony to go anywhere these days without mobs of people trying to touch him or talk to him. The security on that kid is going to be outrageous.” 

Peter frowned. He wasn't even a pseudo big brother yet and he was already feeling ridiculously over protective. He glanced at his Karen-enhanced watch. He and Ned were due at the compound later today but, now that Pepper had forced a car and driver on them, they had plenty of time to finish up their Saturday morning fun before Bernadette arrived to drive them upstate. Peter began to take another bite from his taco when he noticed two nervous women making their way toward the teens. He stiffened as they approached.

“Excuse us...” one of the young women spoke up. She appeared to be in her mid-20's, blonde, dressed casually, slender of build, and shifted nervously from foot to foot. The other woman with her looked to be of similar age, brunette, slightly plump and smiling brightly. Neither of them gave an impression of danger and Peter's 'Spidey Sense' wasn't tripping any alarms but he remained alert just the same. Both women were looking at Ned.

“Uh, we were wondering... ah, Jen here...” the speaker pointed at the smiling woman, “ah... she says you're Ned Leeds? From the Avengers?” 

Ned's eyes widened in surprise. “Umm, yea? I mean, Junior Avengers, but yea?” 

“Oh my God, I just knew it!” the brunette, Jen, exclaimed. “I saw you on T.V. right after the Battle of the Ashes! You like, lived with the Avengers, right? Ohmygodohmygod, can I get your autograph?” she gushed. Ned blushed bright red to the roots of his hair.

Peter groaned, letting his forehead bonk on the table top as M.J. burst into peals of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may throw a few more of these time stamps in from time to time if one pops into my head. Short little drabbles.


End file.
